Baker Hughes starts disclosing frack chemicals

[unhappycamper]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/Baker-Hughes-starts-disclosing-frac-chemicals-5795068.php



Baker Hughes will post the chemicals it uses in fracking on FracFocus.org.

Baker Hughes starts disclosing frack chemicals
By Jennifer Hiller : October 1, 2014 : Updated: October 2, 2014 8:56pm

SAN ANTONIO — Baker Hughes Inc. this month will start disclosing all the chemicals it uses in hydraulic fracturing — the first of the major oil field service companies to adopt a policy of transparency.

The Houston-based company said it will not make any trade secret claims in the information it posts on the industry website FracFocus.org, starting with wells fractured on or after Oct. 1.

The process pumps water and chemicals at high pressure to break shale. Then sand is added to the mixture to prop open the fissures and let oil and gas flow up the well. Along with horizontal drilling, the use of hydraulic fracturing, known more commonly as fracking, has opened up new shale fields across the United States.

Among the many chemicals used for fracking are hydrochloric acid, petroleum distillates and ethanol, according to FracFocus.