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.

     

  • The records for wells completed in Alberta are slightly different than for wells completed in British Columbia. Why?

    The records essentially report the same information and the different jurisdictions share a common interest in protecting water and supporting public access to information.  For example, general information regarding location and well ownership information as well as the particulars of the hydraulic fracturing fluids utilized at a well are common. The differences in the reports reflect the variations in data submission requirements, management processes, and retrieval and reporting procedures of the two jurisdictions.  

  • I know there are wells in my area that have been fractured, but when I search for them I get no results. Why?

    The most likely reasons are that either the wells were fractured before January 1, 2012 (British Columbia) or January 1, 2013 (Alberta) or they have not yet been entered into the system. Only wells fractured after those dates will be entered into the system.  Furthermore, companies undertaking hydraulic fracturing operations have 30 days from the time their completion operations have finished to submit their records. Initially, records for Alberta wells may take longer than the 30 days noted as licensees develop systems to compile and report the information electronically.  Please keep checking back as wells are added on a daily basis

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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.