Baker Hughes to disclose all chemicals in fracking

Baker Hughes announced Friday that it will disclose all of the chemicals involved in fracking to unlock oil and natural gas.

Baker Hughes, the third-largest oilfield services provider, wouldn’t disclose all of the chemicals used in fracking fluids in the past for competitive reasons, spokeswoman for the Houston-based company, Melanie Kania, said.

{mosads}”It’s actually going to take several months for the policy to go into effect,” Kania said, according to Bloomberg News. “We still need to go into negotiations with suppliers, customers, et cetera, and get all of our systems up to date.”

Hydraulic fracturing pumps water, sand and chemicals underground in order to fracture rock and unlock trapped oil and gas to flow to the well.

The website FracFocus, which allows oil companies to voluntarily disclose their chemicals, was created because of public concern about fracking.

Baker Hughes has been holding private discussions with its engineers and suppliers, among others, to be sure it could change its policy and disclose all of the ingredients used, Kania said.

Fracking has come under scrutiny with the boom of natural gas in the United States, which many credit for putting the country on the path to energy independence.