It all centers on shale-gas and the chemicals used to ply loose the commodity that is embedded in rocks. While the industry says that such methods are safe and that they present no danger to the public, environmentalists and community activists counter that the process is destroying their drinking water. Right now, only a few states force developers to disclose the concoctions they use. But at least one federal agency says that the time may be near to require such revelations. 

“Should the department move forward with disclosure requirements, which some in industry have supported, we will do so in a fashion that fully considers public and Congressional concerns,” writes U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, in a letter to the chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources. 

Salazar says that the controversial technique known as hydraulic fracturing is used in about 90 percent of the wells that are currently drilled on federally-managed lands. Simply, such a production technique involves the high-pressure pumping of water and chemicals deep underground so as to break free the natural gas. A 2005 law exempts drillers from disclosing what chemicals they use, citing the competitive nature of the industry. 

The ultimate oversight of the “fracking” practice will have huge implications not just for the industry but for consumers as well. The U.S. Department of Energy is predicting that shale-gas will supply 20 percent of all fuel supplies by 2020. Nowhere is that process more contentious than in the Marcellus Shale. As much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is estimated in the area, which stretches from New York and Pennsylvania and into Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio.

The irony here is that the Obama administration favors the use of more natural gas, noting that it releases considerably fewer emissions than coal and specifically carbon dioxide. At the same time, the White House knows that unless industry cooperates and begins disclosing its chemical processes, the resurgence of natural gas will be derailed. 

Coming to the Table

Producers are balking about what may be required of them. The American Petroleum Institute is emphasizing its safety record, noting that hundreds of thousands of wells have been drilled using hydraulic fracturing and that there are few accidents. It is also citing a recent MIT study that show that the natural gas can supply all of this country’s resources for 100 years from shale-gas. 

“Get underground and understand the sophistication of this process and think of it much akin to surgery,” says Scott Rotruck, vice president of Chesapeake Energy, at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum. “When we go out there and do a site, we cordoned off the whole area. Nothing gets out.”

The process is taking place a mile-and-a-half below the earth’s surface, he adds, noting that current methods typically capture 20 percent of the available shale-gas. “So, the opportunity for innovation is limitless,” if only they are allowed to drill. 

Therein lay the friction: Producers want access but regulators are concerned about safe drinking water and air quality. The only real solution is to negotiate. And while drilling proponents have not formally agreed to reveal what chemicals they use when fracking, their backs are against the wall. Therefore, industry leaders and federal policymakers will talk. 

“A deal will get cut,” says Doug Egan, chief executive of Competitive Power Ventures. 

To add pressure, The New York Times has profiled the topic of putting wastewater from natural gas wells into public waterways, all without being treated. That water has subsequently been tested for “naturally occurring radioactive isotopes,” it says. 

When asked about it during a congressional hearing, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson responded that the public has a right to know. Meanwhile, the Interior Department will conduct its own investigation. The Times is reporting that the agencies are under pressure by industry to focus exclusively on hydraulic fracturing and to avoid examining the issue of radioactivity. 

Despite industry’s reasoned arguments, the forces aligned against it are only going to mount. Option One is to hunker down and hope it all goes away. Option Two is to join the stakeholders and work to allay their fears. If the natural gas sector digs in, it will only burn its bridge to the future. 

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