GLOBAL CLIMATE DEBATE

House E&C Cmte. Wants Data on Hydrofracking

The House Energy and Commerce committee wants to know how safe hydraulic fracturing is, and it's asking companies in the business to submit data to Congress. Today committee chairman Henry Waxman sent letters to eight oil services companies, including the three biggest, Halliburton, BJ Services and Schlumberger -- to find out just what's in the chemical fluids they use -- and much is injected.

 "Hydraulic fracturing could help us unlock vast domestic natural gas reserves once thought unattainable, strengthening America's energy independence and reducing carbon emissions," said Chairman Waxman in today's statement.  "As we use this technology in more parts of the country on a much larger scale, we must ensure that we are not creating new environmental and public health problems."

Hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, blasts sand, water and chemicals deep into rock to extract oil and natural gas in places like the Marcellus, Haynesworth and Barnett Shale. The technique has helped make some of those huge natural gas finds commercially viable, but Waxman, and subcommittee chairman Ed Markey want to know what the risks are to drinking water supplies and the environment.

Waxman said that Halliburton and BJ Services may have injected more than 800,000 gallons of diesel-based fluids, including benzene and toulene, despite a voluntary agreement with the EPA not to use them. Five smaller companies, Frac Tech Services, Superior Well Services, Universal Well Services, Sanjel Corporation, and Calfrac Well Services, also were asked to submit data, the committee said.

The American Petroleum Institute said that hydrofracking was safe and well regulated by states. "Hydraulic fracturing is a safe technology critical to developing the nation’s vast natural gas reserves," said API spokesman Bill Bush.  "It has been used for more than 60 years in more than one million U.S. wells without a single confirmed instance of groundwater contamination."

Clean Skies News tried to contact the companies for comment.  The only response by the time of this posting came from Calfrac, which said the matter was under review.