Hydraulic Fracturing Subject of House Investigation

A House panel has sent out a request to oilfield services companies to determine if they've injected benzene, toluene, xylene or other toxic chemicals while drilling underground. The House needs to look into concerns regarding the toxic chemicals in the hydraulic fracturing drilling process, known as fracking, because they have the potential to taint public drinking water. Fracking injects massive amounts of water, sand and chemicals to break the shale to release oil and natural gas.

Hydraulic Fracturing Fears

Environmentalists and the House worry about fracturing fluids leaking underground during drilling. They're also investigating possible aboveground water contamination that occurs when companies bring used fluids back to surface and store them in ponds where the fluid could leak.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., committee chair, has sent a request for documentation to oil and gas companies about the chemicals used in the mixture. The committee is concentrating on oil and gas companies drilling shallower wells close to aquifers. The committee wants to look at the potential risks. "We must ensure that we are not creating new environmental and public health problems," says Waxman.

The panel has contacted five small companies and three big companies, which include BJ Services, Halliburton and Schlumberger. In 2003, these three companies told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) they would stop adding diesel in the mixture. But, data provided to Congress from BJ Services and Halliburton show they continued to use diesel in drilling activities as of 2007.

A Halliburton spokesperson says the diesel claim is not correct. The company has clarified that it doesn't use diesel in liquid gel concentrates or wells near aquifers.

Upcoming EPA Study

The agency plans to conduct a $1.8 million fracturing study according to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Plus, it will add several million dollars to the study if the agency's budget comes through. "The [timing] of the study will depend on us being able to adjust our operating budget for the current fiscal year…What we’ve done is to try to fund the whole thing out of our budget this year and next year, but we would hope to start this year," says Jackson.

Previously, an EPA-hired consultant reviewed 12 cases of contamination reporting that the contamination "may have a possible link to hydraulic fracturing," but the study turned out inconclusive.

Oilfield hydraulic fracturing has been the subject of many regulation discussions at the House level and at the state level. Although the House committee is aware that the cleaner-burning natural gas can be a big contributor to a lower-carbon future, it needs to make public safety a higher priority.

The voluntary request to the eight oilfield services companies asked the documents be submitted by March 5, 2010.