The Obama administration issued the first federal regulations on hydraulic fracking, a technique for oil and gas drilling that has led to American energy production boom but has also raised concerns about health and safety risks.
The fracking boom made the United States the world’s largest oil and gas producer.
But environmentalists fear that the technique could contaminate surrounding water supplies and wildlife. The new rules will affect over 90,000 oil and gas wells on public lands accounts for about 11 percent of U.S. natural-gas production and 5 percent of oil production. These regulations require extensive disclosures of the chemicals used on public land.
The rules will require companies to publicly disclose the chemical used in the fracturing process 30 days of completing fracking operations, using an industry-run website.
Experts and analysts say it would be beneficial in ecological and economic aspects. Firstly, it will minimize the risks posed by fracking. Secondly, the latest fracking technologies will be used, followed by increase in US oil and gas production. It will lead to maximizing returns for investors of the US oil and gas sector.
