FracFocus- THE National Hydraulic Fracturing Disclosure Registry
TCEQ Environmental Trade Fair
May 6, 2015
WHY IS HYRAULIC FRACTURING A CONTINUING ISSUE?
•Exploration in formerly non producing areas •Severed mineral vs. surface rights •The process seems mysterious •Trade secret claims •Shortage of accurate public information •Misinformation by the media
Why FracFocus?
• Growth in high volume hydraulic fracturing
• Federal intervention into state issues (FRAC Act)
• Desire by states to provide transparency to the public
PROVIDING TRANSPARENCY! – THIS TAKES AWAY
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN! AND
– EMPOWERS
PEOPLE!
The best way to counter mis-information is by:
FracFocus • What is it?
– The ONLY nationwide source of hydraulic fracturing chemical, informational and regulatory information.
• What is its purpose? – FracFocus provides transparency through a national Web
site that discloses hydraulic fracturing chemical data and information.
• How did it start – Joint-partnership formed in 2010 between two state’s
organizations: Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission
What FracFocus does and does not do?
• What FracFocus does. – Provides the ONLY national source for hydraulic fracturing chemical
information authorized by state government agencies – Acts as the means for regulatory reporting in 20 (soon 21) states – Provides landowners with extensive information about the chemicals used in
the hydraulic fracturing of individual wells – Notifies state government regulatory agencies when disclosures are received – Shows locations of disclosures using a Google Maps® style interface
• What FracFocus does not do. – Act as a regulatory program – Act as a well drilling and completion reporting system – Make regulatory decisions regarding reporting parameters or trade secrets
HOW DOES IT WORK?
WWW.FRACFOCUS.ORG
• Two parts –Public side
• General information • Disclosure presentation
–Disclosure submittal side • Operator inputs • Agency outputs
INTERACTIVE INFORMATION
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element describes the process of hydraulic fracturing including the history of the practice, what, why and how fracturing is conducted, site development, and fluid management
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element talks about groundwater and the methods used to protect it including water usage, well construction, groundwater quality and testing, and the physics of fluid flow in the subsurface
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element is a map of the states that contains hot links to the oil and gas regulatory agencies and their regulations governing oil and gas exploration and production. It also includes contact information for the agency.
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element provides the user with information about the reasons chemicals are used in hydraulic fracturing, the chemicals most commonly used, and laws regarding public disclosure of chemicals.
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element offers answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning hydraulic fracturing. The page also contains an Ask a Question form that can be used to submit questions about the website or hydraulic fracturing.
Additional Features • Publications • Links
• The website has a publications page that allows the user to see reports, studies and publications related to hydraulic fracturing and water. These include reports from the GWPC, USGS, USEPA, IOGCC Universities and others.
Additional Features • Publications • Links
• The links page contains hyperlinks to government websites, technical websites and the websites of the participating companies
FracFocus Elements • Hydraulic Fracturing:
How it Works • Groundwater
Protection • Find a Well by State • Regulations by State • Chemical Use • Frequent Questions
• This element allows the user to locate a well that has been hydraulically fractured and to see a record of the chemicals used in the fracturing process. It provides the user with multiple ways to find a well such as searches by state, county, well name, API number and operator
Disclosure presentation
Disclosure presentation
Click on pdf Icon to open the record
Future Infographics Design
Step 2
Concurrent with drilling, layers of pipe called casing strings are placed in the hole. Each string of casing is cemented into the hole to prevent migration of fluids from one zone to another. Read more…..
Constructing the Well
Each casing string is run to a specific depth to isolate zones from succeeding drilling and completion processes.
Centralizers keep the casing Centered in the hole
Cement between the casing and the hole isolates groundwater
The horizontal leg of a well can extend for several thousand feet
Not to scale
Return to Groundwater Protection: Well Construction & Groundwater Protection
Disclosure Submittal From FracFocus 1.0 to 3.0
• Developed in 4 months • Data entry via Excel spreadsheet • Converted to pdf’s • Only header data (Operator, location TVD
etc…) captured in database • Maintained on individual PC’s • Limited data validation
FracFocus 1.0
• Initially, chemical data entry into the registry by the oil and gas companies was voluntary, but in the first year of operation, several states adopted regulations requiring data on the chemicals used in frac fluids to be disclosed – Many of those states specifically referenced FracFocus
as the mechanism for submitting those data • The number of wells for which chemical
information was entered grew quickly – By the end of 2012, data had been entered on more
than 34,000 wells, representing 342 companies
FracFocus 1.0
FracFocus 2.0 • FracFocus 1.0 was developed to fill an important
gap in public disclosure information – The programming and system design were done in a
way that allowed FracFocus 1.0 to get underway quickly in early 2011
• As the volume of information entered into the system grew, industry, GWPC, and IOGCC realized that a more efficient data management system was needed – This led to the development of FracFocus 2.0 during
2012 and early 2013
2.0 Server Side Data Management • Removed Distributed
Excel File Issues • Centralized Data • Single Standardized
Software Application • Consistent
Disclosure Presentation
• Operator’s Manage and Create Disclosures
• Service Company Uploads to Operators
• Agents Approved to Manage Data
• Agencies Allowed to Review & Request Compliance Information
Created New User Categories
The FracFocus 2.0 Disclosure Submission System
• Service company creates xml and sends to operator via e-mail
• Service company creates xml and uploads directly to operator queue
• Operator or registered agent creates xml using pre-loaded forms
Three ways to generate FracFocus 2.0 files
FracFocus 2.0 Data Entry Forms
E&P Operator: View Disclosure Details Click Edit Disclosure From Pending List: Visibly review entered or uploaded Data, Map of Well Spot, Access Edit Options
FracFocus 2.0 Generated PDF: Example
• State and county auto-filled from API number • Coordinates checked to be within county boundaries • Warnings for
– Invalid CAS #’s – Fluid % not within range – Bad county numbers by state code
• Errors for – Invalid coordinate ranges – No entries in Base water or Base non-water volumes – No entry in TVD – No purpose listed – No supplier listed
FracFocus 2.0 Validation Checks
FracFocus 3.0 1. Independent reviews and suggestions 2. Public input on system functionality 3. FracFocus systems and security audit 4. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board
recommendations
FracFocus 3.0 1. Improvements to the accuracy of well data
disclosed on FracFocus 2. Establishment of a policy for data custody,
management, security, and retention 3. State validation of compliance 4. Upgrades to the website to be a more usable
and interactive database 5. BLM requirements
Improvements to the accuracy of well data disclosed on FracFocus
Six step validation process to improve data quality and accuracy
Data quality – step 1 CAS number validation Require valid CAS# Format
Error: Invalid CAS#
Data quality – Step 2 chemical name suggestion
Data quality – step 3 Trade Secret, Proprietary, CBI -Drop down boxes ensure digital
data is submitted - Contact information is required for any ingredient marked as Trade Secret, Proprietary , CBI …
Data quality: step 4 water volume
Improve the quality of base water volume reporting by issuing a warning if Total Water Volume (gal) exceeds 15 million gallons.
Data quality- step 5 maximum ingredient concentration in HF fluid
-If the sum of ingredient concentration in HF fluid is not within 3% of a 100% a warning is issued.
Data quality - step 6
-Multiple disclosures with same API number & job start/end date -Changing the current error to a warning when attempting to submit multiple disclosures with the same API number and job date. -This is only a warning because it is possible to submit multiple disclosures with the same API number and start/end date
Reducing trade secret claims: The systems approach
Trade Name, Supplier & Purpose
Ingredients with CAS #s
Systems Approach
Establishment of a policy for data custody, management, security, and retention • FracFocus is being updated to comply with
current versions of software • Penetration testing has been preformed and
an extra layer of security has been installed to prevent malicious internet attacks
• Google analytics has been added to help manage the web site and internet traffic
FracFocus amended and original record retention policy
• All records, originals and amended, are permanently stored in the FracFocus database (does not include all FracFocus 1.0 records)
• FracFocus 3.0 has a redundant backup system to ensure that all records are retained
• All current records will be available in digital format for download from FracFocus by May 2015 – Limitations:
• FracFocus 1.0 records have header data only • Records from June 1, 2013 on have chemical data • FracFocus cannot warrant the accuracy of records because we are
not allowed to review and modify records submitted under regulatory requirements
Record retention and amendments
Requiring Operators to fill out a text field explaining the reasoning behind amending a record.
State validation of compliance • Under FracFocus 2.0 states had the ability to
download data to check compliance • FracFocus – RBDMS: automatic sync and
report generation
RBDMS report form to check for chemical filing compliance
RBDMS – chemical disclosure report Disclosure date
HF start/end date
Upgrades to the website to be a more usable and interactive database
• Digital downloading of data • Connections with the National Oil and Gas
Gateway • Additional search capability
New online search capability New features allow searches by
– Date HF job performed – Date chemical disclosure submitted – Google style chemical search capability
Search Features Under Development
Additional search criteria 1. Ingredient: purpose, supplier, trade
name… 2. Advanced GIS and/or map based
searches
BLM Requirements The Bureau of Land Management would like to be able to differentiate between wells on federal and Indian lands. FracFocus will be adding an additional checkboxes for compliance with the BLM rule. Additional XML element(s) will also be added to account for this change. If users select the Federal or Indian well’s checkbox an additional popup box will be displayed requiring the user to certify compliance with BLM requirements.
BLM Certification • Per the Final Hydraulic Fracturing Rule on Federal and Indian Lands (FR Vol. XX, No.
XXX / XXXday, March XX, 2015), §3162.3-3 (i) (8) the operator must certify that: • i. The operator complied with the requirements in §3162.3-3, paragraphs (b),
(e), (f), (g), and (h) of the section; • • ii. For Federal lands, the hydraulic fracturing fluid constituents, once they
arrived on the lease, complied with all applicable permitting and notice requirements as well as all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, rules, and regulations; and
• • iii. For Indian lands, the hydraulic fracturing fluid constituents, once they arrived
on the lease, complied with all applicable permitting and notice requirements as well as all applicable Federal and tribal laws, rules, and regulations.
Company Growth By Month
37
1182
869
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Participating Companies
Reporting Companies
Disclosures Reported By Period
1135
95,229
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
100000 Da
te
4/25
/11
5/23
/11
6/27
/11
7/25
/11
8/22
/11
9/26
/11
10/1
7/11
11/2
8/11
12/2
5/11
1/19
/12
2/21
/12
3/28
/12
4/30
/12
5/24
/12
7/5/
12
7/27
/12
8/27
/12
9/17
/12
11/5
/12
11/2
0/12
12/2
1/12
2/4/
13
2/27
/13
3/29
/13
4/19
/13
5/17
/13
6/12
/13
7/24
/13
8/22
/13
10/2
1/13
1/2/
14
2/7/
14
3/18
/14
5/6/
14
7/21
/14
10/3
1/14
1/12
/15
3/16
/15
Disclosures Reported By State*
125 76 2564 2187 9034
1 549 592 1,568 18 66 517 3 4 2,567
7,044 905 7148 5045
44574 3486 123 1006 3011
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
State Alabama
Alaska Arizona
Arkansas California Colorado
Florida Idaho
Illinois Indiana Kansas
Kentucky Louisiana Michigan
Mississippi Missouri
Montana Nebraska
Nevada New Mexico
New York North Carolina
North Dakota Ohio
Oklahoma Oregon
Pennsylvania South Dakota
Tennessee Texas Utah
Virginia West Virginia
Wyoming
*Total disclosures does not equal total wells due to wells with multiple disclosures.
24 States
States Using FracFocus Montana North Dakota South Dakota Colorado Utah Oklahoma Texas Louisiana Mississippi Ohio Pennsylvania Alaska West Virginia Kansas Alabama Nebraska Tennessee Nevada North Carolina Kentucky (7/2015) California (Until 2016)
States Considering FracFocus Florida Virginia Michigan Idaho New York Illinois