SM 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 SM Energy published 610 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.

SM Energy omissions

We’ve found many such data omissions (2) in the disclosures of the operating company, SM Energy. As of this date, we’ve found 610 disclosures with at least one omission, or 40.6% 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. SM Energy is highlighted in orange. Clearly a small fraction of companies account for much of the lacking records and SM Energy is part of that club.

Which states?

These flawed disclosures are for fracking jobs in the following states.

State	number of disclosures with omissions
Texas	560
North Dakota	32
Wyoming	14
Montana	2
New Mexico	1
Oklahoma	1

Which chemicals?

The following table lists the materials for which quantity was omitted and how many records of SM Energy were affected.

CASRN	Name	Molecular structure	Number of missing values
1344-28-1	Alumina	no image	176
12125-02-9	Ammonium chloride		158
68609-68-7	1-Hexanol, 2-ethyl-, manuf. of, by-products from, distn. residues	no image	121
9043-30-5	Polyoxyethylene isotridecyl ether		107
37353-75-6	Bisphenol A bis(polypropylene glycol) ether		101
26836-07-7	Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid monoethanolamine salt	no image	101
67-56-1	Methanol		96
93-83-4	Oleic acid diethanolamide		96
71-23-8	1-Propanol		95
75-07-0	Acetaldehyde		95
108-20-3	Isopropyl ether		95
68513-87-1	Tar bases, quinoline derivs.	no image	95
23783-26-8	Acetic acid, 2-hydroxy-2-phosphono-		95
111-46-6	Diethylene glycol		95
10043-52-4	Calcium chloride		89
7786-30-3	Magnesium dichloride		88
7447-40-7	Potassium chloride		88
64742-47-8	Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light	no image	74
67-48-1	2-Hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium chloride		62
64742-46-7	Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated middle	no image	60
9000-30-0	alpha-D-Galactopyrano-beta-D-mannopyranan	no image	54
104-76-7	2-Ethyl-1-hexanol		47
56-81-5	Glycerol		46
107-21-1	Ethylene glycol		45
78330-21-9	Alcohols, C11-14-isoalcohols, C13-rich, ethoxylated	no image	40
68648-89-5	Benzene, ethenyl-, polymer with 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, hydrogenated	no image	38
9003-05-8	Polyacrylamide		38
1338-43-8	Sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate		34
69011-36-5	Polyoxyethylene trimethyldecyl alcohol	no image	31
68551-12-2	Alcohols, C12-16, ethoxylated	no image	28
64-17-5	Ethanol		25
79-06-1	Acrylamide		24
1310-58-3	Potassium hydroxide		23
25987-30-8	2-Propenoic acid, polymer with 2-propenamide, sodium salt	no image	22
107-19-7	Propargyl alcohol		22
11138-66-2	Corn sugar gum	no image	22
532-32-1	Sodium benzoate		21
110-44-1	2E,4E-Hexadienoic acid		21
9003-11-6	Poloxalene	no image	21
68909-18-2	1-(Phenylmethyl)pyridinium Et Me derivs., chlorides	no image	19
127087-87-0	Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl),alpha-(4-nonylphenyl)-omega-hydroxy-,branched	no image	18
7631-86-9	Silica		18
64-18-6	Formic acid		17
111-76-2	2-Butoxyethanol		17
68036-95-3	Oxirane, 2-methyl-, polymer with oxirane, ether with 2-(chloromethyl)oxirane polymer with 4,4′-(1-methylethylidene)bis[phenol]	no image	16
30704-64-4	p-tert-Butylphenol-ethylene oxide-formaldehyde-propylene oxide copolymer	no image	16
68002-97-1	Ethoxylated C10-16 alcohols	no image	14
120313-48-6	Alcohols, C12-15-branched and linear, ethoxylated propoxylated	no image	13
7664-93-9	Sulfuric acid		12
127-08-2	Potassium acetate		11
64-19-7	Acetic acid		11
68648-87-3	Benzene, C10-16-alkyl derivatives	no image	10
68139-30-0	1-Propanaminium, N-(3-aminopropyl)-2-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyl-3-sulfo-, N-coco acyl derivs., inner salts	no image	10
63148-62-9	Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me	no image	10
111-30-8	Glutaraldehyde		9
108-32-7	Propylene carbonate		9
52624-57-4	Ethoxylated, propoxylated trimethylolpropane	no image	8
9082-00-2	Poly(propyleneoxy/ethyleneoxy)glycerol	no image	8
127-09-3	Sodium acetate		7
75-56-9	(+/-)-1,2-Propylene oxide		6
79-14-1	Glycolic acid		6
75-21-8	Ethylene oxide		6
61791-26-2	PEG-10 Hydrogenated tallow amine	no image	6
123-91-1	1,4-Dioxane		6
9005-65-6	Polysorbate 80	no image	5
104-55-2	3-Phenylprop-2-enal		5
77-92-9	Citric acid		5
143-18-0	Potassium oleate		5
64742-55-8	Distillates, petroleum, hydrotreated light paraffinic	no image	5
9005-67-8	Polysorbate 60	no image	4
1310-73-2	Sodium hydroxide		4
25322-68-3	Polyethylene glycol		4
50-00-0	Formaldehyde		4
7664-38-2	Phosphoric acid		4
112-80-1	Oleic acid		4
139-08-2	Tetradecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride		3
122-18-9	Benzylhexadecyldimethylammonium chloride		3
139-07-1	Benzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride		3
7681-82-5	Sodium iodide		3
7722-76-1	Ammonium phosphate		3
68527-49-1	Thiourea, polymer with formaldehyde and 1-phenylethanone	no image	3
68410-62-8	Ethoxylated naphthenic acids	no image	3
1338-41-6	Anhydrosorbitol stearate	no image	3
98-86-2	Acetophenone		3
26062-79-3	Polyquaternium-6	no image	3
67-63-0	Isopropanol		3
112-53-8	1-Dodecanol		3
9004-62-0	Hydroxyethylcellulose	no image	3
9004-99-3	Polyethylene glycol monostearate		3
64742-94-5	Solvent naphtha, petroleum, heavy arom.	no image	3
91-20-3	Naphthalene		3
52-51-7	Bronopol		3
61791-14-8	Amines, coco alkyl, ethoxylated	no image	3
95-63-6	1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene		3
78330-20-8	Alcohols, C9-11-iso-, C10-rich, ethoxylated	no image	2
78330-19-5	Alcohols, C7-9-iso-, C8-rich, ethoxylated	no image	2
78-21-7	Cetylethylmorpholinium ethosulfate		2
112-27-6	Triethylene glycol		2
1302-78-9	Bentonite	no image	2
1330-20-7	Xylenes		2
30846-35-6	Formaldehyde, polymer with 4-nonylphenol and oxirane	no image	2
14808-60-7	Quartz (SiO2)	no image	2
227310-69-2	None	no image	2
68155-20-4	Tall-oil fatty acid DEA	no image	2
2673-22-5	Sodium ditridecylsulfosuccinate		2
66455-15-0	Alcohols, C10-14, ethoxylated	no image	2
27176-87-0	Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid		2
27306-79-2	Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-tetradecyl-omega-hydroxy-	no image	2
68123-18-2	Phenol, 4,4′-(1-methylethylidene)bis-, polymer with 2-(chloromethyl)oxirane, 2-methyloxirane and oxirane	no image	2
13840-56-7	Boric acid (H3BO3), sodium salt (1:x)	no image	2
74-87-3	Chloromethane		2
57635-48-0	None		2
112926-00-8	Hydrated silica	no image	1
107-98-2	1-Methoxy-2-propanol		1
34590-94-8	Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether		1
9004-32-4	Edifas B	no image	1
10049-04-4	Chlorine dioxide		1
2634-33-5	1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one		1
52501-07-2	Aziridine, polymer with methyloxirane and oxirane	no image	1
121888-68-4	Bentonite, benzyl(hydrogenated tallow alkyl) dimethylammonium stearate complex	no image	1
84133-50-6	Alcohols, C12-14-secondary, ethoxylated	no image	1
12179-04-3	Boron sodium oxide pentahydrate		1
126-96-5	Sodium diacetate		1
68439-46-3	Alcohols, C9-11, ethoxylated	no image	1
224635-63-6	Acetic acid, reaction products with acetophenone, cyclohexylamine, formaldehyde and methanol	no image	1
7791-18-6	Magnesium chloride hexahydrate		1
1589-47-5	2-Methoxy-1-propanol		1
7757-82-6	Sodium sulfate anhydrous		1
7727-54-0	Diammonium peroxydisulfate		1
14807-96-6	Talc	no image	1
125005-87-0	Diutan gum	no image	1
7647-01-0	Hydrochloric acid		1
7632-00-0	Sodium nitrite		1
533-74-4	Dazomet		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 SM Energy, 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