Information About Fracking Chemicals to be on New Website
Star-Telegram
8 April 2011
By Jack Z. Smith
jzsmith@star-telegram.com
A new website containing information about chemicals used in hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, of individual U.S. oil and natural gas wells
completed on or after Jan. 1 will be formally announced and become
available to the public starting Monday.
The website, www.fracfocus.org, is being implemented by the Ground
Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission,
national organizations affiliated with state regulatory agencies.
Mike Paque, executive director of the Oklahoma City-based council,
confirmed Friday in a telephone conversation with the Star-Telegram
that a formal announcement of the site will be made Monday. He said a
number of energy companies have agreed to provide information about
their wells.
Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, whose company will participate
in the website, told members of the news media at the Society of
American Business Editors and Writers in Dallas on Friday that they
could expect to hear a major announcement Monday about a new effort to
disclose information about fracking chemicals.
He said it will be "a big move forward for the industry" but declined
to provide further details. He was the featured speaker at an Editors
and Writers luncheon at Southern Methodist University.
The council and commission had disclosed in October that they planned
to create a Chemical Registry for Hydraulic Fracturing, a national
Web-based system to obtain, store and publish information concerning
chemicals used in fracking, which some environmental groups say can
contaminate groundwater. drinking supplies.
Fracking is used extensively to complete wells in North Texas' Barnett
Shale as well as oil and gas wells in other fields nationwide.
Huge volumes of water and sand along with a much smaller volume of
chemicals are pumped down a wellbore to fracture underground rock
formations and allow oil and gas to flow.
Paque said the website can be viewed immediately but won't be ready for
"full viewing of information" until Monday. It includes general
information and well search tool.
As of Thursday morning, "we already had companies uploading to it. I
think in 30 days we'll have over 30 companies using it and more than
200 frack jobs in the system," he said.