Hours after it took some shots from CBS's "60 Minutes," but on a timetable one of its managers mentioned last month, Halliburton Co. announced today that "it will publicly disclose detailed information on its website about the chemicals used in its fracturing fluids" used to open up vast natural-gas reserves in deep, dense shale formations, Mike Soraghan of Environment & Energy News reports. "Environmentalists say more information is still needed and should be required by federal regulators."
Halliburton's vice president of production enhancement, David Adams, said, "While the initial focus of the additive disclosure pages are limited to activities taking place in Pennsylvania, where development of the Marcellus Shale is already well under way, the company is committed to continuing to provide hydraulic fracturing fluid disclosure information for every U.S. state in which Halliburton's fracture stimulation services are in use." (Read more, subscription required) A Halliburton technology manager told a trade conference in October that the company would reveal chemicals on a website by today, but the company apparently made no formal announcement until today.
CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl noted that Halliburton was the only company that recently refused a request from the Environmental Protection Agency to reveal the chamicals it uses in hydraulic fracturing, known in the business as "fracking." She also noted "the Halliburton loophole," which exempted fracking technology from regulation under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. To watch the 13-minute report, which was as much about the gas boom and windfalls for landowners as about the environmental aspects, click here.
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