Oil giants ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), BP (NYSE: BP), and Shell Oil (NYSE: RDSA) do not want the federal government to regulate the hydraulic fracturing process for natural gas drilling, according to a Reuters report.
An unnamed source told the news agency that the companies wrote a letter urging Senators drafting a compromise climate change bill to leave regulation up to the states.
Hydraulic fracturing–a relatively new practice–allows for the extraction of natural gas from shale formations in the Northeast. However, there is growing concern that the process, which includes injecting high-pressured chemicals, water and sand underground, can poison water supplies.
Staff members of Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) reportedly asked the oil companies for their opinions as to what regulation would be appropriate in the climate change bill they are preparing to introduce.
Read the full Reuters story at the link below.
The EPA announced this month that it will study the potential hazards of hydraulic fracturing.
New York City is opposed to natural gas drilling in its watershed.
Investors have urged drilling companies to come clean about the chemicals they are using.
Representatives in the US House want to reverse a measure by the Bush administration that excludes hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
And 10 Senate Democrats want to keep expanded drilling compromises out of the climate change bill all together.
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