House Panel Probing Natural Gas 'Hydrofracking' Project
February 18 2010 - 3:36PM
Dow Jones News
The House Energy and Commerce Committee said Thursday it had
begun an investigation into the potential impacts of a natural gas
production process called "hydrofracking" on the environment and
human health.
Environmentalists and some lawmakers are pressing to give the
Environmental Protection Agency federal oversight of the process,
concerned that the drilling technique is contaminating water
supplies.
The process, which injects water, sand and a small amount of
chemicals into natural gas reservoirs under high pressure, has
opened major new deposits to development, dramatically expanding
estimates for domestic production. State regulators and the natural
gas industry have been fighting against federal regulation, saying
it could prevent or delay development of trillions of cubic feet of
new resources.
"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
Henry Waxman (D., Calif.).
"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. This investigation will
help us better understand the potential risks this technology poses
to drinking water supplies and the environment, and whether
Congress needs to act to minimize those risks," he said.
Waxman and energy subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D., Mass.)
sent out letters to eight hydrofracking service and production
companies, including Halliburton Co. (HAL), BJ Services Co. (BJS)
and Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), requesting information on the process.
The committee said it had already collected some information from
Halliburton, BJ Services and Schlumberger but was seeking
additional details.
The announcement of the probe comes just days afte Steve Heare,
director of the EPA's Drinking Water Protection Division, said that
despite claims by environmental organizations of thousands of
cases, he hadn't seen any documented evidence that the
hydrofracking process was contaminating water supplies. He also
said state regulators were doing a good job overseeing the process.
In its 2011 budget, the EPA is seeking to spend $4 million to study
the environmental impacts of the process.
Bill Kappel, a U.S. Geological Survey official, said
contamination of water supplies is more likely to happen as
companies process the waste water from hydrofracking. In some
instances, municipal water systems that treat the water have
reported higher levels of heavy metals and radioactivity. Those
activities are largely already regulated by the federal government
under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water acts.
Contrary to some press reports, Heare also noted that the EPA
wasn't conducting any current investigations linking hydrofracking
to water contaminations.
In an emailed statement, the American Petroleum Institute said
hydraulic fracturing is a safe technology critical to developing
the nation's vast natural gas reserves. "It has been used for more
than 60 years in more than 1 million U.S. wells without a single
confirmed instance of groundwater contamination."
Companies such as Range Resources Corp. (RRC), EOG Resources
Inc. (EOG), Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA,
RDSA.LN) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) say the process is
multiplying their reserves. For example, the Marcellus deposit that
lies under Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and New York is estimated
to hold more than 500 trillion cubic feet, compared to total
conventional natural gas resource estimates in the U.S. of around
378 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Geological
Survey.
-By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9285;
ian.talley@dowjones.com
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