WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012—API welcomed today’s announcement by the Appalachian Shale Recommended Practices Group (ASRPG) and highlighted the important role of local efforts in establishing industry standards for oil and natural gas production.
“The oil and natural gas industry continues to lead in efforts that promote safe and environmentally responsible energy production, particularly in those operations that utilize hydraulic fracturing,” said API Standards Director David Miller. “We welcome these recommendations and are encouraged to see expert opinions that affirm API’s hydraulic fracturing guidance documents.
“API’s standards and recommended practices form a very strong foundation for safe and responsible production of energy from shale, including hydraulic fracturing, which is an essential part of the process. Regional differences in state geology make a single set of operational regulations impractical and API’s standards provide a structure amenable to various groups to help them develop practices specific to local geography.”
API supports and works closely with a number of public and private partnerships throughout the country, including FracFocus, State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations (STRONGER) and the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC).
“It is only with the use of hydraulic fracturing that our nation will be able to develop our vast oil and natural gas resources,” Miller said. “And, this technology is a game changer that could lead to significant job growth, billions in revenue for our government, and a boost to our energy security.”
Several federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, have cited API standards and so have many state agencies. API has published five standards related to hydraulic fracturing since 2009 and these are available to the public for review,
here.
API formed its standards program in 1923 and published its first standard on drilling threads in 1924. API’s standards program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) the U.S. standards authority and the same organization that accredits programs at several national laboratories. API’s program is operated in conformance with ANSI requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process.
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.