Parsley Energy: Omissions of quantity data

Summary: FracFocus disclosures that omit fundamental quantity information undermine the integrity of the fracking chemical data. Open-FF (1) found that the operator Parsley Energy  published 314 disclosures with quantity data missing for at least some records. 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.

Parsley Energy omissions

We’ve found many such data omissions (2) in the disclosures of the operating company, Parsley Energy Operations, LLC. As of this date, we’ve found 314 disclosures with at least one omission, or 31.5% of all of the company’s disclosures (example). 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. Parsley Energy Operations, LLC is highlighted in orange. Clearly a small fraction of companies account for much of the lacking records and Parsley Energy Operations, LLC 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 Parsley Energy Operations, LLC were affected.

CASRN	Name	Molecular structure	Number of missing values
71-23-8	1-Propanol		197
68513-87-1	Tar bases, quinoline derivs.	no image	197
108-20-3	Isopropyl ether		197
75-07-0	Acetaldehyde		197
111-46-6	Diethylene glycol		197
79-06-1	Acrylamide		194
25987-30-8	2-Propenoic acid, polymer with 2-propenamide, sodium salt	no image	193
127-09-3	Sodium acetate		189
52624-57-4	Ethoxylated, propoxylated trimethylolpropane	no image	169
9082-00-2	Poly(propyleneoxy/ethyleneoxy)glycerol	no image	169
78330-21-9	Alcohols, C11-14-isoalcohols, C13-rich, ethoxylated	no image	63
9000-30-0	alpha-D-Galactopyrano-beta-D-mannopyranan	no image	62
7664-93-9	Sulfuric acid		58
7631-86-9	Silica		58
100-41-4	Ethylbenzene		43
127-08-2	Potassium acetate		42
64-19-7	Acetic acid		33
1310-73-2	Sodium hydroxide		23
27306-79-2	Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-tetradecyl-omega-hydroxy-	no image	17
5064-31-3	Glycine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt		15
111-30-8	Glutaraldehyde		15
64-17-5	Ethanol		15
68424-85-1	C12-16-Alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides		15
9005-65-6	Polysorbate 80	no image	13
139-33-3	Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, disodium salt		13
150-38-9	Trisodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate		13
68188-99-8	Formaldehyde, polymer with 4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenol, 2-methyloxirane, 4-nonylphenol and oxirane	no image	12
67762-90-7	Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me, reaction products with silica	no image	12
63148-62-9	Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me	no image	12
7758-98-7	Copper sulfate		12
556-67-2	Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane		12
541-02-6	Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane		12
540-97-6	Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane		12
8042-47-5	White mineral oil, petroleum	no image	11
69227-21-0	Alcohols, C12-18, ethoxylated propoxylated	no image	11
9016-45-9	Nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol		11
67-63-0	Isopropanol		11
67-56-1	Methanol		11
7664-38-2	Phosphoric acid		11
111-42-2	Diethanolamine		11
111-76-2	2-Butoxyethanol		11
14808-60-7	Quartz (SiO2)	no image	11
10043-52-4	Calcium chloride		11
1310-58-3	Potassium hydroxide		11
7647-01-0	Hydrochloric acid		11
13598-36-2	Phosphonic acid		11
107-21-1	Ethylene glycol		11
81741-28-8	Tributyltetradecylphosphonium chloride		11
12125-02-9	Ammonium chloride		11
31017-83-1	POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL), ALPHA,ALPHA’-[(DODECYLIMINO)DI-2,1-ETHANEDIYL]BIS[OMEGA-HYDROXY-	no image	11
9002-92-0	Polyoxyethylene dodecyl mono ether		10
143-18-0	Potassium oleate		9
75-21-8	Ethylene oxide		8
123-91-1	1,4-Dioxane		8
112-80-1	Oleic acid		8
75-56-9	(+/-)-1,2-Propylene oxide		8
2836-32-0	Glycolic acid sodium salt		6
64742-47-8	Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light	no image	5
16481-66-6	Potassium metaborate (KBO2) hydrate(3:4)		5
9016-88-0	1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, polymer with 1,2-ethanediol and .alpha.-hydro-.omega.-hydroxypoly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl)	no image	4
66455-14-9	Alcohols, C12-13, ethoxylated	no image	4
112-53-8	1-Dodecanol		4
52-51-7	Bronopol		4
39322-78-6	Potassium lauryl phosphate	no image	4
9043-30-5	Polyoxyethylene isotridecyl ether		4
9002-84-0	Polytetrafluoroethylene		4
72283-36-4	Oxirane, 2-methyl-, polymer with oxirane, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, methyl ether	no image	4
91-20-3	Naphthalene		3
61791-26-2	PEG-10 Hydrogenated tallow amine	no image	3
95-63-6	1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene		3
14807-96-6	Talc	no image	3
557-04-0	Magnesium stearate		3
26027-38-3	26-(4-Nonylphenoxy)-3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24-octaoxahexacosan-1-ol		3
68953-58-2	Quaternary ammonium compounds, bis(hydrogenated tallow alkyl)dimethyl, salts with bentonite	no image	2
104-55-2	3-Phenylprop-2-enal		2
11138-66-2	Corn sugar gum	no image	2
122-18-9	Benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride		2
1338-41-6	Anhydrosorbitol stearate	no image	2
139-08-2	Tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride		2
9004-32-4	Edifas B	no image	2
2634-33-5	1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one		2
36089-45-9	2-Propenoic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester, polymer with 2-hydroxyethyl 2-propenoate	no image	2
533-74-4	Dazomet		2
7727-54-0	Diammonium peroxydisulfate		2
66455-15-0	Alcohols, C10-14, ethoxylated	no image	2
7632-00-0	Sodium nitrite		2
68308-89-4	Fatty acids, C18-unsatd., dimers, ethoxylated propoxylated	no image	2
68937-55-3	Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me, 3-hydroxypropyl Me, ethoxylated propoxylated	no image	2
26183-52-8	Polyethylene glycol monodecyl ether	no image	1
26100-51-6	Propanoic acid, 2-hydroxy-, homopolymer	no image	1
63428-92-2	Ethylene oxide-formaldehyde-p-nonylphenol-propylene oxide copolymer	no image	1
13709-94-9	Potassium metaborate		1
68188-40-9	Fatty acids, tall oil, reaction products with acetophenone, formaldehyde and thiourea	no image	1
7446-09-5	Sulfur dioxide		1

The numbers in this post reflect a FracFocus data set downloaded in January 2025. For more up-to-date statistics, visit this link.

SEPARATORS

Endnotes

1. 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 Parsley Energy Operations, LLC, visit this page.
2. 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.
3. The numbers in this post reflect a FracFocus data set downloaded in January 2025. For more up-to-date statistics, visit this link.
4. Title image credit: Becky Mansfield, modified by author
5. Chemical images credit: EPA Comptox