WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- A subcommittee convened by the U.S. Department of Energy left key regulatory measures out of a report on shale gas development, an energy group said.
Shale gas in countries like Poland, Ukraine and the United States is emerging as part of a revised energy mix. Critics of hydraulic fracturing, an extraction method known as fracking, view the chemicals used in the practice as a threat to groundwater supplies while others say methane is released during the extraction process.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu convened a subcommittee to examine shale, calling on energy companies to reveal what's in fracking compounds and provide before-and-after test samples to allay public concerns.
The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group representing hundreds of energy companies, said Chu's panel in its review didn't take industry and state regulations into full account.
"States have effective regulation," Erik Milito, an upstream director at API, was quoted by the Platts news service as saying. "To eliminate confusion we urge the subcommittee to recognize these programs as well as the gas industry's record of continuous improvement in operations."
Operators in Michigan under measures passed in May are required to list characteristics of the chemical additives used in fracking fluid. West Virginia, Texas and others have passed similar regulatory measures regarding shale.
