Palisade – The company planning to drill for oil and gas on the slopes that hold the drinking-water source for Palisade and Grand Junction has promised not to use the toxic substances that are generally pumped into the ground to fracture rock formations.
Instead, Genesis Oil & Gas will put a “green” slurry into the watershed on the Grand Mesa. It will be a mix of more innocuous substances such as citrus oils and other organic materials.
What is being called “green fracing” is an attempt to push more environmentally friendly fluids into the ground under high pressure to fracture the rock and allow oil and gas to reach wells.
More companies are switching to green frac fluids on Colorado’s Western Slope, especially in areas close to residents or drinking-water supplies.
“I don’t think that necessarily the current fracing technologies are ultra-toxic. But the public is certainly concerned, and we want to comfort the public,” said Bob Behner, vice president of business development for Genesis.
Hydraulic fracturing has long been the bane of environmentalists and property owners who fear the diesel, solvents and other toxic substances pumped underground can create health hazards if they migrate into water sources or aerosolize when they are pumped back out.
With the current gas boom bringing wells closer to homes and into more environmentally sensitive areas, and industry estimates that up to 80 percent of new wells in the next decade will require fracturing, this practice has emerged as one of the more touchy aspects of drilling. The fluids used in fracing aren’t regulated and are exempt from the Clean Drinking Water Act.
The mostly voluntary move is being applauded by many, but greeted with some skepticism by others.
“Certainly we don’t want to have diesel down there, so if they have a plan to use some kind of fluid that is nontoxic, that’s great,” said Palisade Mayor Doug Edwards.
But Edwards said town officials have not received any information about what might be pumped into the ground in lieu of diesel.
“I don’t have a clue what a ‘green’ fluid means and they certainly haven’t defined it for us,” he said.
“I think it’s a public-relations thing,” said Dr. Theo Colborn, a professor at the University of Florida, president of the Paonia-based Endocrine Disruption Exchange and a nationally known researcher and author. Because there are no standards for “green” frac fluids, it’s possible they could still be environmentally damaging. Like traditional frac fluid ingredients, the exact recipes for green frac fluids are considered proprietary and not released.
Some of the known organic materials being used in the green fluids, such as citrus oils, can be dangerous in higher concentrations. And some companies are advertising they are using “diesel-free” frac fluids, but the fluids still contain a hydrocarbon element such as kerosene.
David Harvy, chief technical officer for Benchmark Performance Group Inc., which sells additives for frac fluids, said his company calls the ingredients “green” if they meet or exceed standards of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. That means they can have only traces of toxins such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and zilene.
Harvy said the use of the green fluids began in coalbed methane fields and in offshore drilling. His company began making the green fluid additives in 1999.
Antero Resources Corp. was one of the first energy companies to do green fracing in Colorado and defines its frac fluid mainly by what it isn’t: “nontoxic, nonpolluting, nonhazardous and noncarcinogenic in the forms and concentrations being used on site.”
Antero has been using the green fluids for 18 months and has completed 90 green fracing operations as part of an agreement to drill around Rifle, Silt and New Castle in as safe and unobtrusive way as possible.
“Rather than try to convince people the old way is safe, we found a new way,” said Terry Dobkins, the company’s vice president of production.
Some other companies have voluntarily switched on some rigs. Encana recently began using mineral oils and a soapy solution for most drilling in the Piceance Basin; Tulsa, Okla.- based Williams is using industrial-strength soap in its fluids.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
Traditional methods of “fracing”
Hydraulic fracturing: A process in which a small amount of chemicals in water is injected into rock formations at high pressure to facilitate gas production.
Traditional fracing: Fluids often contain diesel and industrial solvents. Volatile organic compounds in the diesel – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene – are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors and can cause mutations in both human and wildlife populations. Energy officials downplay health effects from these components and from fracing fluids overall because they say the toxins are so diluted.
