(updated post for 2016)
Hydraulic fracutring has been very much in the news lately, and has become a flashpoint for many when talking about the role of the oil industry, and it’s future. With the development of “unconventional” reserves, in particular using horizontal wells producing from shale formations, completion techniques that used to be the domain of petroleum engineers have vaulted into the public consciousness. No matter how you feel about fossil fuels, there is no denying that right now they are a fundamental foundation of our way of life, so this debate affects all of us.
Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting chemically treated water, usually along with sand, into oil and gas wells under high pressure. The goal is to cause the oil and gas bearing rock to fracture, increasing the drainage radius (and therefore production rate) of the well. Typically the target layer of rock is thousands, or tens of thousands, of feet below the surface.
There are significant questions in the public mind about the safety of these techniques, the potential for contamination of groundwater, and various other concerns. The story has been told in documentaries and other media, trying to explain and document the issues involved.
On the other hand, these techniques have given us access to enormous new resources within our national borders that were previously inaccessible. Our natural gas reserves have expanded, as Obama famously said in his State of the Union address, to support 100 years of use. Clearly developing our own reserves has national security implications, as well as creating new economic opportunities in many areas of the country. The oil industry argues vigorously that these techniques are safe, and indeed have been used successfully for over 60 years. Limiting or banning hydraulic fracturing would have an immediate, significant impact on oil and gas production in the affected states.
These competing interests have certainly caught the attention of state legislatures. Some looking to ensure hydraulic fracturing can continue unabated, such as this bill passed in North Dakota last year and also this bill in Utah, two oil producing states. There are bills for states that currently don’t have any wells looking to create a mechanism for wells to be permitted, such as these 2013 bills in North Carolina and Hawaii. Several current bills call for a moratorium on fracturing, until more information can be gathered, such as these current bills in New York and Maryland. And there have been bills banning hydraulic fracturing outright, such as this bill passed in Vermont last year (Vermont has never had any commercial wells); another 15 bills this session call for a ban.
About 300 bills have been introduced in the last three years relating to hydraulic fracturing; there are around 100 so far this year. These bills have been in both producing and non producing states. Here is the national landscape for 2013 to date:
And in 2011 and 2012:
The trend has been towards additional disclosure of the particulars of a treatment, including where and when, as well as the chemical make up of frac fluid. Texas and Indiana both passed disclosure bills last year, and there are 37 bills with a disclosure component introduced so far this year. As discused above, there have also been a number of bills calling for a ban, or at least a moratorium pending further study. Here’s the breakdown of the types of bills introduced so far this year:
Another battle shaping up is determining what level of government will be making regulations. Last year Utah passed a bill stating the states should have regulatory authority, not the federal government. And this year this New York bill calls for the state to have authority, and not counties or municipalities (see section 4). And this West Virginia bill specifically gives authority to counties and municipalities to make their own regulations. How this issue, along with transparency initiatives, and the calls for bans or at least moratoriums play have the potential to have a large impact on all of us.
To learn more
View a recording of our webinar on 3/28/2013 or download the slides from the presentation.
A complete list of all current bills regarding hydraulic fracturing can be seen on this stakeholder page. Note you can use the magnifying glass tool in the footer of the grid to open up a filter pane, allowing you to narrow bills down to a specific state (or to producing or non producing states). You can click on a column header to sort the bills, which is particularly useful for the action date column to see what has happened lately, or sort on the category column to see where different types of bills have been introduced. And you can click on the bill icon in the first column to read the complete bill text, history, and so on. Save this link to keep informed about legislation on this topic. Or consider our subscription options if you’d like to be alerted about new legislation or share these bills on your own website (or feel free to share the stakeholder page).
Please share your opinion and experiences in the comment section if you believe hydraulic fracturing should be encouraged, forbidden, and/or if additional transparency or regulations should be put in place.
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