Groundwater Protection: Priority Number One

Oil and natural gas producers have stringent requirements for how wells must be completed. The genesis of these requirements is water safety.

Casing is the first line of defense used to protect freshwater aquifers.

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FAQ's

  • What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

     

    Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracing”, is the process of creating small cracks, or fractures, in deeply buried geological formations to allow natural gas to flow into the wellbore.  The natural gas can then flow to the surface under controlled conditions through the wellhead and be collected for processing and distribution.

    During the hydraulic fracturing process, a mixture of water, sand and other chemical additives designed to protect the integrity of the wellbore and enhance production is pumped under high pressure into the formation to create fractures. The fractures are kept open by sand or “proppant”, which provides pathways to allow the natural gas to flow into the wellbore.

     

  • Is the raw data available for fracfocus.ca?

    Yes, the raw data for BC and Alberta are available directly from each regulator's website.

    For BC, the database is available at https://bcogc.ca/online-services. Please navigate to the REPORTS section under Reservoir Engineering to a link called Complete FracFocus Data.

    For Alberta, you can access this information through the AER Product and Services Catalogue as a self-serve item. Specifically, it is found within the ‘Wells’ category, with the product name “Hydraulic Fracturing Water Source and Water Use Data”. As the product name implies, there is detailed information on water used for hydraulic fracturing operations, as well as the source(s) of that water; fluid composition information is found within the ‘Hydraulic Fracturing Water Use Data (Annual)’ self-serve file.

  • What constitutes a trade secret?

     

    An ingredient or formulation of ingredients that represent a unique or competitive advantage to owner of the intellectual property associated with the ingredient, formulation or use.  Various mechanisms are available to protect confidential business information.  For hazardous materials, companies wishing to protect their intellectual property may apply to the Hazardous Material Information Review Commission for a claim exemption under the Hazardous Material Information Review Act to deem the ingredient or formulation a trade secret.  For non hazardous materials this decision remains with the creator of the ingredient or formulation.  Creators may also apply for patents; however many consider this mechanism to not be a practical mechanism to protect confidential business information as disclosure of the ingredient or formulation is necessary. While it may be in the public interest to offer some protection of trade secrets, a basic level of information is captured in all cases and additional information can be required if necessary to support an incident investigation.     

     

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National Energy Board to Join Fracfocus.ca

Calgary, Alberta (November 27, 2013) - The National Energy Board (NEB or the Board) will soon request companies regulated under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA) to publicly disclose information on the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing operations.

Today the NEB signed an agreement with the BC Oil and Gas Commission, and the US-based Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission to participate in the Fracfocus.ca website.