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| Nobles Hill, Van Etten, Frank Patterson |
clarification added Feb 4
On Monday Representatives Henry A. Waxman, Edward J. Markey, and Diana DeGette informed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that drilling companies are still using diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing. An investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Committee found that oil and gas companies injected 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel to frack wells in 19 states – despite an industry pledge to discontinue the use of diesel in fracking. In 2003 EPA signed an memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the three largest providers of hydro-fracking services to eliminate the use of diesel fuel in their drilling. Two years later, in 2005, Congress exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act – except when fracking fluids contain diesel. At that point, many people assumed that the industry had stopped using diesel altogether.
However, when Congressional investigators sent letters to 14 companies requesting details on the type and volume of fracking chemicals they used, they learned that some companies were still using diesel. A number of gasfield service companies said they had eliminated or were cutting back on use of diesel - but 12 companies reported that between 2005 and 2009 they used a total of 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel, or fluids containing diesel fuel, in their fracking processes. They are:
Company gallons of diesel injected
Basic Energy Services 204,013
BJ Services 11,555,538
Complete 4,625
Frac Tech 159,371
Halliburton 7,207,216
Key Energy Services 1,641,213
RPC 4,314,110
Sanjel 3,641,270
Schlumberger 443,689
Superior 833,431
Trican 92,537
Weatherford 2,105,062
The diesel-laced fracking fluids were used in a total of 19 states. Nearly half was injected into wells in Texas, and 589 gallons found their way into eastern frack jobs, ending up in Pennsylvania gas* wells.
The industry isn’t denying the accusation, but they are arguing that the EPA never fully regulated the diesel-based fracking. Although they signed the MOA’s they told ProPublica that there was no clear law prohibiting the use of diesel in fracking fluids.
Congressman Waxman and his colleagues disagree. The Safe Drinking Water Act, they say, made it clear that diesel-based fracking was regulated under EPA’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. And the UIC regulations require permits, which the companies have not obtained.
Diesel Fracking in States from 2005 – 2009
State Volume (gallons)
AK 39,375
AL 2,464
AR 414,492
CA 26,466
CO 1,331,54
FL 377
KS 50,304
KY 212
LA 2,971,255
MI 8,007
MS 221,044
MT 662,946
ND 3,138,950
NM 605,480
OK 3,337,325
PA 589
TX 16,031,927
UT 404,572
WY 2,954,747
Total 32,202,075
You can read the full text of the Congressional letter to EPA here.
* clarification: the diesel fuel was used to frack gas or oil wells. The Congressional investigation was unable to draw conclusions about environmental and health impacts of diesel used in fracking, as the drilling companies did not obtain permits nor provide data on how near their wells were to drinking water wells.
So how do teh drillers benefit from using Diesel instead of something else? There has to be another way
ReplyDeleteLPG fracking (gelled propane) seems like a better alternative to diesel and water based fracking, no potable water use, no waste water, and better well productivity.
ReplyDelete