Summary: FracFocus disclosures that omit fundamental quantity information undermine the integrity of the fracking chemical data. Open-FF (1) found that the operator Blackbeard Operating published 519 disclosures with quantity data missing for at least some records. It was among companies publishing the most records with no quantity data. We summarize those omissions here.
A chemical disclosure instrument such as FracFocus depends on accurate and complete data. Individual disclosures with poor or missing data can erode the trust of users for the entire system. FracFocus, unfortunately, has many disclosures with missing data. This post is part of Open-FF’s effort to improve FracFocus data integrity and to alert stakeholders to these data weaknesses.
Along with the identity of a chemical used in a fracking operation, the quantity is critical information. The range of material quantities reported in FracFocus stretches from less than one pound to over a million pounds. When quantity data is missing, a reader of a disclosure won’t be able to tell if, say, a hydrochloric acid record is for one pound or one million pounds – the difference between a small jar’s worth and many tanker trucks full.
Blackbeard Operating omissions
We’ve found many such data omissions (2) in the disclosures of the operating company, Blackbeard Operating. As of this date, we’ve found 519 disclosures with at least one omission, or 40.8% of all of the company’s disclosures. The following chart shows when those fracking jobs occurred and how many records were missing data.
Compared to other companies
More than half of all operators reporting to FracFocus had NO records with quantity omissions. In the following graph, each point is an operator. The companies without omissions are not on this graph. Just 25% of companies are above the horizontal line, and 25% to the right of the vertical line. Blackbeard Operating is highlighted in orange. Clearly a small fraction of companies account for much of the lacking records and Blackbeard Operating is part of that club.
Which states?
These flawed disclosures are for fracking jobs exclusively in Texas.
Which chemicals?
The following table lists the materials for which quantity was omitted and how many records of Blackbeard Operating were affected.
| CASRN | Name | Molecular structure | Number of missing values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67-48-1 | 2-Hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium chloride |  | 492 |
| 12125-02-9 | Ammonium chloride |  | 467 |
| 93-83-4 | Oleic acid diethanolamide |  | 459 |
| 68551-12-2 | Alcohols, C12-16, ethoxylated | no image | 409 |
| 64742-47-8 | Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light | no image | 408 |
| 107-21-1 | Ethylene glycol |  | 401 |
| 64-19-7 | Acetic acid |  | 359 |
| 67-63-0 | Isopropanol |  | 294 |
| 68154-97-2 | Alcohols, C10-12, ethoxylated propoxylated | no image | 290 |
| 68424-85-1 | C12-16-Alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides |  | 267 |
| 7173-51-5 | Didecyldimethylammonium chloride |  | 265 |
| 26836-07-7 | Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid monoethanolamine salt | no image | 126 |
| 1310-73-2 | Sodium hydroxide |  | 45 |
| 127087-87-0 | Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl),alpha-(4-nonylphenyl)-omega-hydroxy-,branched | no image | 43 |
| 9000-30-0 | alpha-D-Galactopyrano-beta-D-mannopyranan | no image | 42 |
| 14808-60-7 | Quartz (SiO2) | no image | 40 |
| 111-30-8 | Glutaraldehyde |  | 39 |
| 7681-52-9 | Sodium hypochlorite |  | 38 |
| 9003-11-6 | Poloxalene | no image | 37 |
| 68609-68-7 | 1-Hexanol, 2-ethyl-, manuf. of, by-products from, distn. residues | no image | 37 |
| 67-56-1 | Methanol |  | 18 |
| 56-81-5 | Glycerol |  | 11 |
| 100-41-4 | Ethylbenzene |  | 10 |
| 14464-46-1 | Cristobalite | no image | 8 |
| 1330-20-7 | Xylenes |  | 8 |
| 68526-83-0 | Alcohols, C7-9-iso-, C8-rich | no image | 8 |
| 631-61-8 | Ammonium acetate |  | 8 |
| 1302-93-8 | Mullite (Al6O5(SiO4)2) | no image | 8 |
| 1302-78-9 | Bentonite | no image | 8 |
| 1302-76-7 | Kyanite (Al2O(SiO4)) | no image | 8 |
| 107-19-7 | Propargyl alcohol |  | 8 |
| 61790-69-0 | Fatty acids, tall-oil, reaction products with diethylenetriamine | no image | 8 |
| 10043-35-3 | Boric acid (H3BO3) |  | 8 |
| 111-76-2 | 2-Butoxyethanol |  | 7 |
| 79-06-1 | Acrylamide |  | 6 |
| 108-38-3 | m-Xylene |  | 5 |
| 22042-96-2 | (((Phosphonomethyl)imino)bis((ethylenenitrilo)bis(methylene)))tetrakisphosphonic acid, sodium salt | no image | 5 |
| 7447-40-7 | Potassium chloride |  | 5 |
| 108-88-3 | 1-Methylbenzene |  | 5 |
| 68585-34-2 | Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-sulfo-omega-hydroxy-, C10-16-alkyl ethers, sodium salts | no image | 4 |
| 9014-01-1 | Subtilisin | no image | 4 |
| 16481-66-6 | Potassium metaborate (KBO2) hydrate(3:4) |  | 3 |
| 6419-19-8 | Aminotrimethylene phosphonic acid |  | 3 |
| 7647-01-0 | Hydrochloric acid |  | 3 |
| 62649-23-4 | Poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid), partial sodium salt | no image | 2 |
| 31017-83-1 | POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL), ALPHA,ALPHA’-[(DODECYLIMINO)DI-2,1-ETHANEDIYL]BIS[OMEGA-HYDROXY- | no image | 2 |
| 64-17-5 | Ethanol |  | 2 |
| 69227-21-0 | Alcohols, C12-18, ethoxylated propoxylated | no image | 2 |
| 111-42-2 | Diethanolamine |  | 2 |
| 8042-47-5 | White mineral oil, petroleum | no image | 2 |
| 9016-45-9 | Nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol |  | 2 |
| 9005-65-6 | Polysorbate 80 | no image | 2 |
| 10043-52-4 | Calcium chloride |  | 2 |
| 81741-28-8 | Tributyltetradecylphosphonium chloride |  | 2 |
| 13598-36-2 | Phosphonic acid |  | 2 |
| 7631-86-9 | Silica |  | 2 |
| 7664-38-2 | Phosphoric acid |  | 2 |
| 13463-67-7 | Titanium dioxide |  | 1 |
| 55566-30-8 | Tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium sulfate |  | 1 |
| 9004-77-7 | Polyethylene glycol monobutyl ether | no image | 1 |
| 1309-37-1 | Iron oxide (Fe2O3) |  | 1 |
| 10049-04-4 | Chlorine dioxide |  | 1 |
| 1305-78-8 | Calcium oxide |  | 1 |
| 12136-45-7 | Potassium oxide |  | 1 |
| 7758-19-2 | Sodium chlorite |  | 1 |
| 7722-84-1 | Hydrogen peroxide |  | 1 |
| 120313-48-6 | Alcohols, C12-15-branched and linear, ethoxylated propoxylated | no image | 1 |
| 13840-56-7 | Boric acid (H3BO3), sodium salt (1:x) | no image | 1 |
| 69011-36-5 | Polyoxyethylene trimethyldecyl alcohol | no image | 1 |
The numbers in this post reflect a FracFocus data set downloaded in January 2025. For more up-to-date statistics, visit this link.
Endnotes
- Open-FF is a public service project, independent of FracFocus, that aims to foster better understanding of chemical uses of the fracking industry by organizing and analyzing chemical disclosures of FracFocus. To see company-specific information about Blackbeard Operating, visit this page.
- The values that are omitted are in the “PercentHFJob” data field which represents the percentage (by mass) of the total fracking fluid. This number is usually less that 1% but because the mass of the total fluid is enormous – often greater that 100 million pounds – the actual mass of the chemical component can be quite large.
- The numbers in this post reflect a FracFocus data set downloaded in January 2025. For more up-to-date statistics, visit this link.
- Title image credit: Becky Mansfield, modified by author
- Chemical images credit: EPA Comptox
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