Hydrofracking Under Scrutiny By Federal & State Officials

Federal lawmakers are calling on the federal Securities and Exchange Commission,  the Energy Information Administration and the Government Accounting Office, to investigate whether the natural gas industry has provided an accurate picture to investors of the long-term profitability of their wells and the amount of gas these wells can produce.

The calls for investigations came amid growing questions about the environmental and financial risks surrounding natural gas drilling and especially a technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, used to release gas trapped underground in shale formations.

Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, asking it to look into questions about the environmental impacts of hydrofracking, the accuracy of reserves estimates, and industry regulation.

State lawmakers also sought more information.

In Maryland, Delegate Heather R. Mizeur, Democrat of Montgomery County, sent a letter to the state comptroller and the attorney general calling for an investigation into disclosures related to the financial and environmental risks of drilling.

In New York, Assemblywoman Barbara S. Lifton, a Democrat and longtime critic of drilling, sent a letter to the New York State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, calling for a similar investigation and citing roughly $1 billion in state pension funds invested in shale gas companies.

The New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, sent subpoenas to five oil and gas companies ordering them to provide documents relating to the disclosure the companies made to investors about the risks of hydrofracking. The five companies subpoenaed — Talisman, Chesapeake Energy, E. O. G. Resources, Baker Hughes and Anadarko. (NYT, 6/28/2011)