Range Resource spearheading voluntary initiative

Range Resources Corp. announced today that it has submitted its first hydraulic fracturing disclosure forms to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and has posted the information on the Range website. The information covers the first three Marcellus Shale wells in Pennsylvania that Range has hydraulically fractured since implementation of the voluntary initiative. As additional Marcellus wells are drilled, Range will provide similar information within approximately 30 days of completion.

On July 14, 2010, Range announced its voluntary initiative to disclose Marcellus Shale hydraulic fracturing additives. The purpose of the initiative is to provide regulators, landowners and citizens of Pennsylvania an accounting of the highly diluted additives used at each well site. In reaction to the initiative, Range has received supportive response from policy makers, regulators, Pennsylvania citizens and environmental and conservation groups. Commenting on the effort, US Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA) said, “With many questions about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale still unanswered, I commend Range Resources for its decision to voluntarily disclose information about the contents of the fluids they are using in that process on a per well basis, and I strongly encourage other companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale to disclose the components of their fluids in that kind of detail as well.”

The decision to disclose the exact chemical composition of the chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking), has come about because people are distrustful of the potential damage fracking could cause. Concerns over groundwater contamination have already led some shale projects in New York state to be cancelled on the grounds they might pollute the state’s groundwater. Hopefully this initiative should assuage fears over shale projects and allow shale gas full potential to be realised. Shale gas has already been described as a ‘game-changing’ energy resource by industry chiefs, and with America’s enormous shale assets, which are large enough to virtually guarantee America’s energy security, it is essential that the industry gets the American public on side.

“We are very pleased with the response we have received to our initiative and our commitment to achieving the proper balance of pursuing the enormous opportunity that the Marcellus Shale provides and implementing a standard of care for the environment and the communities where we live and work. We’re hopeful that our voluntary effort will help to dispel misconceptions about the process and allow Range and others to deliver on the potential of this extraordinary resource base,” said John Pinkerton, Chairman and CEO of Range Resources.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/13082010/range_resource_spearheading_voluntary_initiative/