Energy giant BHP Billiton, which has taken a strong position in the Haynesville Shale, held a stakeholders meeting Wednesday at its Shreveport office to share results of a 2015 investor scorecard that ranked the transparency and disclosure of 30 of the largest oil and gas companies doing hydraulic fracturing as part of their drilling operations.
For a second year, BHP Billiton ranked No. 1 in the report titled “Disclosing the Facts,” published in part by the Investor Environmental Health Network.
Edwin Mongan, senior manager of environment and regulatory, said BHP Billiton created a case study around the scorecard categories.
“Part of the scorecard is being able to report that you’re actually conducting a best practice, such as not having a lot of proprietary chemicals. So, it gives us a guidepost for improving our own performance as we go,” Mongan said.
The scorecard evaluated how energy firms manage risk around their fracking operations, including the use and disclosure of toxic chemicals in fracking fluids, water consumption and water quality, waste management, air emissions, methane leakage and community impact. The report found 70 percent of oil and gas companies fail to adequately disclose risks to investors.
Mongan says BHP Billiton is working to be more accountable to the people who are concerned about what goes on in fracking a well.
“We’re focusing on those risks that they’re really concerned about and we think are the appropriate ones to be concerned about. That includes air emissions, use and disposal of water and waste, and how we’re managing our chemicals we use in the frac fluids,” Mongan said.
BHP Billiton is active in four shale plays, but the Melbourne, Australia-headquartered mining giant is not drilling right now in the Haynesville due to low commodity prices.
Tommy Clark, head of corporate affairs for shale, says BHP Billiton wants the community to know what is happening in their own backyard, especially when drilling resumes.
“We have no crystal ball to known when and how it will rebound. But we’re doing everything to prepare to ride out the storm. We know where our sweet spots are and we definitely have a lot of faith and trust that those sweet spots will continue to be developed for decades.” Clark3a
The scorecard awarded BHP Billiton 32 out of 39 points. Chesapeake Energy scored 4 points, a tie with Chevron and Exxon Mobil, rounding out the bottom third of the industry.
