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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ERCB RELEASES REVISED VERSION OF SHALLOW FRACTURING DIRECTIVE

Calgary, Alberta (August 14, 2009) The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has released a revised version of Directive 027: Shallow Fracturing Operations—Restricted Operations. The ERCB was prompted to review its technical design requirements and regulatory options due to recent trends in Alberta to develop shallow gas reservoirs less than 200 metres (m) deep using high fracture volumes, pump rates, and pressures during shallow fracturing operations.

This edition of the directive is effective August 14, 2009, and includes the following revisions: 

• The 25 m vertical restriction for a proposed fracture treatment below the total depth of a water well within 200 m will be increased to 50 m. The current 200 m horizontal restriction from existing water wells has been deemed acceptable and remains the same. 
  
• An additional fracture treatment restriction is being imposed from the bedrock surface to a vertical depth of 50 m below the bedrock surface. 
  
• Maximum injection volumes of nitrogen will be capped at 15 000 cubic metres per vertical metre of coal, unless the licensee has prior ERCB approval.

The ERCB expects licensees to conduct all drilling and completion operations at any depth with technical due diligence and in compliance with ERCB requirements. The ERCB also believes it is prudent for industry to carefully design and monitor fracturing operations shallower than 200 m to ensure protection of water wells and shallow aquifers.

As part of the ERCB’s ongoing regulatory review process and fulfilling a commitment made in the original directive, a Multi-Stakeholder Shallow Fracturing Steering Committee was assembled to assess the interim controls implemented and to determine their acceptability. The committee included representatives from the Pembina Institute, Farmer’s Advocate, Alberta Environment, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, Canadian Society of Unconventional Gas, Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, Petroleum Services Association of Canada, Alberta Surface Rights Federation, and the ERCB. A fracture modeling expert was chosen by the committee to study shallow coal fracturing data and develop an understanding of science-based fracture propagation dimensions. The recommendations from the resulting report were presented to and subsequently supported by the committee.

The ERCB ensures that the discovery, development, and delivery of Alberta's energy resources take place in a manner that is fair, responsible, and in the public interest.

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This news release is available on the ERCB Web site at http://www.ercb.ca

For more information, contact:
Davis Sheremata, ERCB Communications
Phone: 403-605-4216, Email: davis.sheremata@ercb.ca



NR2009-21