Gas producers craft ‘fracking’ rules
Transparency critical in public relations battle, says CAPP
Getting ahead in the public relations battle over hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells will be costly but is vital to the continued health of the industry, its association says.
In announcing best operating practices for “fracking” Monday, Dave Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the public gives the industry its “social licence” and it must earn that licence.
“The guiding principles (released last September) and operating practices are intended to help the industry both improve performance and be more transparent about the performance,” he said.
“And I think both of those things help address the public’s concerns. Transparency is real important in this. There’s a perception we’re not open enough as an industry.”
Fracking involves injecting water with sand and chemicals under high pressure, usually through horizontal wells to break up tight rock formations thousands of metres underground, to allow trapped gas to flow. Critics have connected the practice to groundwater contamination, earthquakes and soil contamination, although CAPP insists that 170,000 wells have been fracked in Alberta without any adverse effects.
Jurisdictions including France and Quebec have halted the practice and both Texas and British Columbia have passed legislation requiring the industry to reveal fracturing chemicals on a well-by-well basis.
The operating practices, designed by members and passed by the CAPP board of directors, echo last fall’s principles in setting out broad goals for disclosing fracturing components, assessing chemicals with an eye to using the least environmentally harmful products, ensuring proper wellbore construction and using the best methods to safely transport, handle, store and dispose of fracking chemicals.
It also suggests that producers do baseline groundwater testing before developing a gas field and then monitor while drilling and completions go on. “There has been a lot of concern expressed by communities and stakeholders about the potential for contamination of groundwater by fluids,” said Collyer.
“I think this is an area again where we’re pretty confident, very confident, as an industry, that this is not an issue. But unless we can demonstrate that it’s not an issue, we’re not going to have the support of these communities.”
Later, he said the baseline testing should be paid for by industry, with players involved in the same areas partnering on the costs.
A well blowout near Innisfail in central Alberta in January was linked to hydraulic fracturing, which resulted in a call from the Alberta Surface Rights Group for a moratorium on fracking until further scientific research is completed.
The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), the provincial regulator, issued a notice to remind oil and gas producers they must maintain control of wells at all times. Collyer said CAPP is awaiting further information on what caused the blowout before responding.