A handful of producers have taken the initial steps to upload their data on fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) process to www.hydraulicfracturingdisclosure.org — a state-based registry run by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), a GWPC official said.

These companies have applied for log-in to set up an account to upload the data on hydrofracking fluids, said Dan Yates, director of organizational development for GWPC. He declined to name the companies, but said they were probably major producers.

He said, however, it would be another one to three months before the public would be able to download the hydrofracking data from the state registry site. “We want to have plenty of data before we advertise it to the public,” Yates said.

The new state-based registry, a joint effort of GWPC and IOGCC, provides companies with the opportunity to voluntarily disclose the contents of hydrofracking fluids (see NGI, Oct. 4, 2010).

The heads of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) last Tuesday joined the growing chorus of trade groups and energy companies expressing support for the registry.

The Energy Information Administration has reported that shale gas will play a growing role in the natural gas mix in the years ahead, increasing to 45% of U.S. production by 2035 from 14% of domestic production in 2009.

“We applaud this state-led effort to provide greater transparency about hydraulic fracturing and the opportunity to increase public confidence in its safety. Hydraulic fracturing facilitated an enormous increase in the size of the natural gas resource base in the last four years and generated tens of thousands of new jobs in shale-producing states,” said NGSA President R. Skip Horvath.

He stressed the importance of regulation of the fracking process remaining in the hands of the states, not the federal government.

Environmentalists argue that the fluids used in the fracking process pose a risk to public safety and the environment. Producers contend otherwise, pointing to the results of a 2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as proof. The EPA currently is carrying out a second study to determine if fracking presents any hazards.

Producers inject fluids thousands of feet underground into shale rock, fracturing it and providing channels for natural gas to travel up the wellbore.The fluid mixture is 99% water and sand with about 1% additives that serve important functions such as inhibiting corrosion and discouraging bacteria growth, the groups said.

INGAA President Donald Santa said shale gas is vital to achieving national goals. “New domestic natural gas supplies will be critical to meeting the nation’s energy needs for decades to come. For example, natural gas is playing an increasingly important role in generating efficient, low-emission electricity. We are in agreement with President Obama that natural gas is a solution that Republicans and Democrats can come together on.”

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