Canada's National Energy Board asks companies to voluntarily publically disclose frac fluids

Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) regulates oil and gas exploration of certain Canadian frontier lands and offshore areas, including the Northwest Territories, the Arctic, the west coast offshore and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The NEB has announced that it will begin to request companies drilling in such areas to voluntarily publically disclose the chemicals used in hydraulically fracturing on FracFocus.ca, the Canadian version of FracFocus.org.

Presently, under the Canadian Petroleum Resources Act, certain well-related information, including the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids, is protected from public disclosure for up to two years. NEB-regulated companies will be asked to sign a waiver allowing public disclosure of their hydraulic fracturing chemicals on FracFocus.ca prior to the end of the two year confidentiality period. Hence, the public disclosure of the fracturing fluid information will be at the discretion of each company, at least until the end of the two year confidentiality period. If a well operator does not voluntarily agree to the disclosure the NEB will publically release the information via FracFocus.ca at the end of the two year period.

View a copy of the NEB press release

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This post was written by Alan Harvie (alan.harvie@nortonrosefulbright.com or +1 403.267.9411) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.