ACS Green Chemistry Institute® launches a roundtable to focus on hydraulic fracturing

Members include Apache, Dow, Marathon Oil, Nalco, Rockwater Energy Solutions and Trican Well Service

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2014 – The American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) is forming a roundtable to identify opportunities for the oil and gas industry to use green chemistry and engineering in hydraulic fracturing. The ACS GCI Hydraulic Fracturing Roundtable is open to new members; to be considered a founding member companies must apply by December 31, 2014.

This scientific collaboration will seek to enable informed decisions about those chemicals commonly employed in hydraulic fracturing and will work to promote the prioritized development of more sustainable chemical alternatives.

“Green chemistry is also safer chemistry,” says Danny Durham, director of Global Upstream Chemicals, Apache and co-chair of the new roundtable. “The roundtable will focus on improving the environmental footprint of the industry by funding academic research for safer alternatives, sharing scientific information, developing tools that help operators make good choices and communicating the facts with key stakeholders.”

Current founding members of the ACS GCI Hydraulic Fracturing Roundtable include Apache Corporation (APA), Houston, Texas; The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Midland, Michigan; Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), Houston, Texas; Nalco Holding Co. (NLC), Naperville, Illinois, a full subsidiary of Ecolab Inc. (ECL); Rockwater Energy Solutions Inc., Houston, Texas; and Trican Well Service (TCW.T), Calgary, Canada.

The ACS GCI convenes roundtables to provide member companies with a scientific-focused organization better positioned to prioritize research needs, inform the research agenda and reduce the cost of green chemistry and engineering tools specific to the industry.

“It is important to bring third-party credibility, good science and good research to this whole area of hydraulic fracturing,” says David Long, co-chair of the roundtable and ACS GCI Governing Board member. “The roundtable offers a way for competitive companies to come together and work collaboratively to use green chemistry to address common non-competitive issues and research needs.”

Other ACS GCI Roundtables include the Pharmaceutical Roundtable, Formulators’ Roundtable and Chemical Manufacturer’s Roundtable.

“Given the high level of public concern about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, moving toward chemicals with less toxicity can not only reduce business risks and save money, but can also enable hydraulic fracturing companies to speak directly to the public's concern,” says Richard Liroff, executive director of the Investor Environmental Health Network, who helped facilitate the roundtable's formation.

Green chemistry and engineering principles help scientists find ways to reduce or eliminate toxicity, conserve energy, reduce waste and consider the impact of chemical products and processes throughout their life cycle.

More information can be found at http://www.acs.org/gcihydraulicfracturing

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The ACS Green Chemistry Institute® is the oldest organization dedicated to catalyzing the implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemical enterprise. ACS GCI convenes Industrial Roundtables, holds an annual Green Chemistry & Engineering conference (gcande.org), and offers educational resources including grants, awards, webinars, and workshops. A part of the American Chemical Society, ACS GCI encourages innovation in chemistry and engineering to solve environmental and human health issues facing our world today.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.