# HESI302300

## A SURVEY OF THE INTERSTATE OIL AND GAS COMPACT COMMISSION

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) has completed a survey of oil and natural gas producing states that provides an understanding of hydraulic fracturing and its role in the completion of oil and natural gas wells in the United States. The survey results are aresented in the attached table. A copy of the survey questionnaire is also attached. Principal findings of this survey reveal that the technique has been ~n widespread, common use for nearly 60 years - the technique gained its current widespread popularity as a production technique in the 1940s. Approximately 55,000 wells are hydraulically fractured annually in this country with close to one million wells having been hydraulically fractured in the United States since the technique’s inception with no documented harm to groundwater. Hydraulic fracturing has been regulated by the states since its inception. A principal focus of state oil and gas regulatory programs is on protecting ground and surface water resources. The survey reveals hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and oil wells is a processthatis well understood and well regulated by the petroleum producing states. Hydraulic fracturing is used in many geological formations in order to make oil and gas flow freely to the well bore. Williams and iVleyers’Mlanual of Oil and Gas Terms defines hydraulic fracturing as "a mechanical method of increasing the permeability of rock, and thus increasing the amount of oil or [natural] gas produced from it. The method employs hydraulic pressure to fracture the rock." Under modern production techniques, hydraulic fracturing fluid (primarily water and sand) is injected under pressure into the rock through perforations in the well bore. The well is then allowed to flow back the injected fluid, leaving the sand to prop open the fractures in the rock. In a typical well, approximately eighty percent of the injected fluid is returned to the surface within a short period after fracturing, with an additional fifteen to twenty percent recovered through production. The injected sand material is left in the rock to create the pathway for the oil and/or natural gas to flow. The IOGCC represents the governors of 37 states - 30 member and seven associate states - that produce virtually all the domestic oil and natural gas in the United States. The IOGCC’s mission is to promote the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources, while protecting health, safety and the environment.


## SURVEY QUESTIONAIRRE How long has your state regulated oil and gas production? Is hydraulic fracturing utilized in your state? Ifso, for how long?(in years/or year date) Ifso, for what type ofwells? le. oil, gas, natural gas from coal seams Approximately how many wells are fractured annually in your state? How many total wells have been fractured in your state since the use of this technology began? What percentage of the wells in your state are fraced? Has there been an instance of harm to groundwater in your state from the practice of fracturing?
exactdataunknown to the state contact, estimates are acceptab/e. 

# JULY, 2002

HES1302301

### SURVEY OF STATES RE: FRACTURING

ALABAMA 1945 YES 1945 G,O, CSNG 285 5,300 85 ~,LASKA 1958 YES 1981 G,O 55 1,400 40 NO ~,RKANSAS 1939 YES 1980s G,CSNG 150 N/A 75 NO 3ALIFORNIA 1915 YES 1970s O,G 500 15,000 15 NO 30LORADO 1951 YES 1980sG,O, CSNG1500 20,000 99 NO ILLINOIS 1939 YES 1950s 0 100030 to 50,00030 NO INDIANA 1947 YES 1950s O,G 1000 20,562 95 NO KANSAS 1933 YES 1960sO,G,CSNG 900 50,000 40 NO KENTUCKY 1960 YES 1960s G 1000 30,000 50 NO LOUISIANA 1920s YES 1960s O,G 258 36,000 30 NO MICHIGAN 1927 YES 1970s O,G 400 9,000 90 NO MISSISSIPPI 1939 YES 1960s G 70 2 to 3,000 35 NO MONTANA 1954 YES 1950s O,G 10 4,000 66 NO NEBRASKA 1959 YES 1950s O,G 200 3,500 80 NO NEVADA 1954 YES 1980s 0 10 50 5 NO NEW MEXICO 1935 YES 1950sO,G,CSNG 1000 30,000 90 NO NEWYORK 1879 YES 1962 O,G 100 8,000 85 NO NORTH DAKOTA1945 YES 1950s O,G 15 290 10 NO 3HIO 1965 YES 1950s O,G 550 67,000 81 NO 3KLAHOMA 1915 YES 1950s O,G 1150 58,000 60 NO PENNSYLVANIAPre-1900 YES 1950sO,G,CSNG2000 118,000 99.9 NO SOUTH DAKOTA1943 YES 1960s O,G 10 195 90 NO FENNESSEE 1969 YES 1969 O,G N/A N/A N/A NO FEXAS 1919 YES 1950s O,G 20220 361,000 50 NO UTAH 1955 YES 1970s G,O 480 7,000 80 NO VIRGINIA 1950 YES 1970s G,CSNG 300 3,000 100 NO WESTVIRGINIA1929 YES 1960sO,G,CSNG 1000 25,000 95 NO WYOMING 1951 YES 1950s O,G 500 25 to 30,00066 NO tOTALS 34,663 948,597 56.3%
Types of wefts: G-Natural Gas, O-OiL CSNG-Natura/ gas from coal seams N/A - Specific numbers not available.


# JULY, 2002

HESI302302