Pennsylvania Hydraulic Fracturing State Review, September 2010

An in-depth review of Pennsylvania hydraulic fracturing regulatory program has been completed by a multi-stakeholder review team. The review team has concluded that the Pennsylvania program is, over all, well managed, professional and meeting its program objectives. The review team also made recommendations for improvements in the program.

Frac Attack: Risk, Hype, and Financial Reality of Hydraulic Fracturing in the Shale Plays, June 2010

Reservoir Research Partners, an independent research firm specializing in in-depth research on business challenges, market dynamics, and regulatory matters that affect business investments, prepared this comprehensive report analyzing the state of hydraulic fracturing and the looming regulatory and economic hurdles that producers will face in the coming years. This well balanced study examines both sides of the debate surrounding the safety of hydraulic fracturing, citing key scientific articles and government reports both for and against fracturing practices.

API HF1, Hydraulic Fracturing Operations-Well Construction and Integrity Guidelines, First Edition/October 2009
The purpose of this guidance document is to provide guidance and highlight industry recommended practices for well construction and integrity for wells that will be hydraulically fractured. The guidance provided here will help to ensure that shallow groundwater aquifers and the environment will be protected, while also enabling economically viable development of oil and natural gas resources.

API HF2, Water Management Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing, First Edition/June 2010
The purpose of this guidance document is to identify and describe many of the current industry best practices used to minimize environmental and societal impacts associated with the acquisition, use, management, treatment, and disposal of water and other fluids associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing. While this document focuses primarily on issues associated with hydraulic fracturing pursued in deep shale gas development, it also describes the important distinctions related to hydraulic fracturing in other applications.

Moreover, this guidance document focuses on areas associated with the water used for purposes of hydraulic fracturing, and does not address other water management issues and considerations associated with oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production. These topics will be addressed in future API documents.