Range Resources - Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Selection and Management

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Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Selection and Management

Fracturing Fluid Selection and Disclosure:

Hydraulic fracturing a time tested and proven technology utilized by the oil and natural gas industry for more than 60 years and in more than 1 million wells. This is a process that requires the injection of fluid, under pressure to create a network of fissures for trapped hydrocarbons to safely flow to the surface through our production facilities and eventually to fuel our homes, vehicles, electricity and businesses. Transparency and open dialogue are vital to the continued progress of energy development. This pushed Range to become the first company to voluntarily disclose the fracturing fluid for each completed well on our website. Range has supported new regulations on disclosure through PA Ch. 78 provisions, new legislation of Act 13 and trade group efforts. In Pennsylvania, Act 13 enacted one of the most aggressive and transparent hydraulic fracturing disclosure laws in the country..Colorado's requirements, upon which much of this Act's disclosure requirements were based, were hailed by progressive industry representatives, environmental organizations and many other groups as a model for other states Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection States like Pennsylvania Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and others require operators to submit a chemical disclose through Frac Focus, a national chemical disclosure registry for oil & gas exploration founded by the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission. Advanced planning is critical to eliminating any impacts from potential impacts. Even though chemical additives are carefully managed, highly diluted, encompassed by secondary containment and injected through multiple cemented strings of steel casing, Range selects vendors that utilize the most environmentally friendly additives whenever technically possible. Roughly 99.9% of the fracturing fluid is water and sand, the rest is a blend of common chemicals that are a part of our everyday lives or as the Groundwater Protection Council indicated essentially soap. Many states require Spill Prevention Control and Contingency (SPCC) plans for each well site, which describes the best practices to be used in the event of a spill. Active well locations maintain a series of onsite preventative technologies, such as absorbent materials to soak up a contained spill and vacuum trucks to eliminate any spilled liquid on location. Range supports the ongoing scientific research of our industry (link collaboration tab here). Reputable universities such as the University of Texas and MIT have done intense scientific research on natural gas development in prominent shale plays like the Barnett, the Marcellus and the Haynesville. These studies found no evidence of hydraulic fracturing leading to groundwater contamination. In other states like Virginia, where Range develops a number of different geologic formations that produce hydrocarbons Range utilizes a combination of nitrogen, water, sand and some chemicals. For instance the Lower Huron Shale formation is now being completed using 100-percent nitrogen. Nitrogen is an inert gas that makes up approximately 78-percent of the air that we breathe. Nitrogen is not listed on the greenhouse gases list and has proven to be one of the greenest chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. Keep in mind that nitrogen cannot be used to stimulate all geologic formations. In other instances we may be required to utilize some concentrations of chemicals typically guar gum, foaming agents and potentially some other chemicals, all of which can be found at FracFocus.org on a per well basis.

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Range Resources - Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Selection and Management

http://www.rangeresources.com/getdoc/20cc7d07-383b-476f-83a0-d4ab...

In states like Oklahoma we also utilize environmentally responsible fluids under strict state regulations. It is in Oklahoma where the Groundwater Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission are based. Those two organizations jointly launched the widely lauded FracFocus effort, which Range participates in for all wells across the company.

Links: Range Resources Well Completion Reports Hydraulic Fracturing Fact Sheet Water Usage Fact Sheet Frac Focus Groundwater Protection Council Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission

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