Conference Call on Hydraulic Fracturing
Jane Van Ryan
Posted March 26, 2010
Yesterday API hosted a conference call about hydraulic fracturing with 14 bloggers who previously expressed a strong interest in this 60-year-old drilling practice.
Among the topics discussed was the makeup of fracking fluids used to create fissures in hard-rock formations allowing oil and/or natural gas to flow up the wellbore.
As API's representatives explained to the bloggers, fracking fluids are 99.51 percent water and sand, and the chemicals used in the fluids are posted online and at drill sites. To suggest that the industry won't divulge the fluids' chemical compositions is a "red herring," commented Erik Milito, API's group director for Upstream and Industry Operations.