Summary: FracFocus disclosures that omit fundamental quantity information undermine the integrity of the fracking chemical data. Open-FF (1) found that the operator Apache Corporation published 386 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.
Apache Corporation omissions
We’ve found many such data omissions (2) in the disclosures of the operating company, Apache Corporation. As of this date, we’ve found 386 disclosures with at least one omission, or 12.1% 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. Apache Corporation is highlighted in orange. Although Apache is not above the horizontal line, it’s number of flawed records is among the largest of the 1,600 companies reporting. Clearly a small fraction of companies account for much of the lacking records and Apache Corporation 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 | 283 |
| Oklahoma | 83 |
| New Mexico | 20 |
Which chemicals?
The following table lists the materials for which quantity was omitted and how many records of Apache Corporation were affected.
| CASRN | Name | Molecular structure | Number of missing values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 64-19-7 | Acetic acid |  | 89 |
| 75-56-9 | (+/-)-1,2-Propylene oxide |  | 85 |
| 127-08-2 | Potassium acetate |  | 85 |
| 123-91-1 | 1,4-Dioxane |  | 85 |
| 75-21-8 | Ethylene oxide |  | 85 |
| 24937-78-8 | Vinyl acetate ethylene copolymer | no image | 85 |
| 74-87-3 | Chloromethane |  | 45 |
| 7647-01-0 | Hydrochloric acid |  | 43 |
| 67-56-1 | Methanol |  | 40 |
| 112-80-1 | Oleic acid |  | 34 |
| 143-18-0 | Potassium oleate |  | 32 |
| 50-00-0 | Formaldehyde |  | 28 |
| 10049-04-4 | Chlorine dioxide |  | 23 |
| 67-63-0 | Isopropanol |  | 22 |
| 14808-60-7 | Quartz (SiO2) | no image | 19 |
| 91053-39-3 | Diatomaceous earth, calcined | no image | 18 |
| 79-06-1 | Acrylamide |  | 17 |
| 1310-73-2 | Sodium hydroxide |  | 15 |
| 13598-36-2 | Phosphonic acid |  | 14 |
| 10604-69-0 | Ammonium acrylate |  | 14 |
| 9014-01-1 | Subtilisin | no image | 13 |
| 68585-34-2 | Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-sulfo-omega-hydroxy-, C10-16-alkyl ethers, sodium salts | no image | 13 |
| 8042-47-5 | White mineral oil, petroleum | no image | 10 |
| 107-19-7 | Propargyl alcohol |  | 10 |
| 68424-85-1 | C12-16-Alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides |  | 9 |
| 111-30-8 | Glutaraldehyde |  | 9 |
| 60-24-2 | 2-Mercaptoethanol |  | 9 |
| 7447-39-4 | Copper(II) chloride |  | 7 |
| 100-44-7 | Benzyl chloride |  | 7 |
| 1336-21-6 | Ammonium hydroxide |  | 7 |
| 9002-84-0 | Polytetrafluoroethylene |  | 7 |
| 64-17-5 | Ethanol |  | 6 |
| 2634-33-5 | 1,2-Benzisothiazolin-3-one |  | 6 |
| 9043-30-5 | Polyoxyethylene isotridecyl ether |  | 6 |
| 533-74-4 | Dazomet |  | 6 |
| 52-51-7 | Bronopol |  | 6 |
| 112-53-8 | 1-Dodecanol |  | 6 |
| 7447-40-7 | Potassium chloride |  | 6 |
| 7632-00-0 | Sodium nitrite |  | 5 |
| 9004-32-4 | Edifas B | no image | 4 |
| 64742-47-8 | Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light | no image | 4 |
| 9005-65-6 | Polysorbate 80 | no image | 3 |
| 107-21-1 | Ethylene glycol |  | 3 |
| 7631-86-9 | Silica |  | 3 |
| 68002-97-1 | Ethoxylated C10-16 alcohols | no image | 3 |
| 14807-96-6 | Talc | no image | 3 |
| 5064-31-3 | Glycine, N,N-bis(carboxymethyl)-, trisodium salt |  | 3 |
| 68551-12-2 | Alcohols, C12-16, ethoxylated | no image | 3 |
| 9000-30-0 | alpha-D-Galactopyrano-beta-D-mannopyranan | no image | 3 |
| 9016-45-9 | Nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol |  | 2 |
| 68439-50-9 | Alcohols, C12-14, ethoxylated | no image | 2 |
| 72283-36-4 | Oxirane, 2-methyl-, polymer with oxirane, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, methyl ether | no image | 2 |
| 63148-62-9 | Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me | no image | 2 |
| 68308-89-4 | Fatty acids, C18-unsatd., dimers, ethoxylated propoxylated | no image | 2 |
| 67762-90-7 | Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me, reaction products with silica | no image | 2 |
| 9016-88-0 | 1,4-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, polymer with 1,2-ethanediol and .alpha.-hydro-.omega.-hydroxypoly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) | no image | 2 |
| 68937-55-3 | Siloxanes and Silicones, di-Me, 3-hydroxypropyl Me, ethoxylated propoxylated | no image | 2 |
| 7173-51-5 | Didecyldimethylammonium chloride |  | 2 |
| 91-20-3 | Naphthalene |  | 2 |
| 9003-35-4 | Bakelite | no image | 2 |
| 7758-98-7 | Copper sulfate |  | 2 |
| 93-83-4 | Oleic acid diethanolamide |  | 2 |
| 39322-78-6 | Potassium lauryl phosphate | no image | 2 |
| 111-76-2 | 2-Butoxyethanol |  | 2 |
| 119-36-8 | Methyl salicylate |  | 2 |
| 12125-02-9 | Ammonium chloride |  | 2 |
| 36089-45-9 | 2-Propenoic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester, polymer with 2-hydroxyethyl 2-propenoate | no image | 2 |
| 25987-30-8 | 2-Propenoic acid, polymer with 2-propenamide, sodium salt | no image | 2 |
| 540-97-6 | Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane |  | 2 |
| 541-02-6 | Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane |  | 2 |
| 557-04-0 | Magnesium stearate |  | 2 |
| 556-67-2 | Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane |  | 2 |
| 57-13-6 | Urea |  | 2 |
| 15220-87-8 | Propylene pentamer |  | 2 |
| 100-97-0 | Methenamine |  | 2 |
| 61790-12-3 | Fatty acids, tall-oil | no image | 2 |
| 7775-27-1 | Sodium persulfate |  | 1 |
| 12045-78-2 | Boron potassium oxide (B4K2O7), tetrahydrate |  | 1 |
| 1310-58-3 | Potassium hydroxide |  | 1 |
| 78-21-7 | Cetylethylmorpholinium ethosulfate |  | 1 |
| 1302-74-5 | Corundum (Aluminum oxide) | no image | 1 |
| 8001-79-4 | Castor oil | no image | 1 |
| 7727-54-0 | Diammonium peroxydisulfate |  | 1 |
| 84133-50-6 | Alcohols, C12-14-secondary, ethoxylated | no image | 1 |
| 62649-23-4 | Poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid), partial sodium salt | no image | 1 |
| 119-65-3 | Isoquinoline |  | 1 |
| 113221-69-5 | 2-Propenoic acid, ethyl ester, polymer with ethenyl acetate and 2,5-furandione, hydrolyzed | no image | 1 |
| 7664-38-2 | Phosphoric acid |  | 1 |
| 9005-64-5 | Polysorbate 20 | no image | 1 |
| 112-40-3 | Dodecane |  | 1 |
| 111560-38-4 | 2-Propenoic acid, ethyl ester, polymer with ethenyl acetate and 2,5-furandione, hydrolyzed, sodium salt | no image | 1 |
| 111-46-6 | Diethylene glycol |  | 1 |
| 111-42-2 | Diethanolamine |  | 1 |
| 108-32-7 | Propylene carbonate |  | 1 |
| 10043-52-4 | Calcium chloride |  | 1 |
| 7681-52-9 | Sodium hypochlorite |  | 1 |
| 18016-19-8 | Sodium maleate (1:x) | no image | 1 |
| 1327-36-2 | Aluminatesilicate | no image | 1 |
| 34590-94-8 | Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether |  | 1 |
| 629-59-4 | Tetradecane |  | 1 |
| 5989-27-5 | D-Limonene |  | 1 |
| 64742-96-7 | Solvent naphtha, petroleum, heavy aliph. | no image | 1 |
| 66455-14-9 | Alcohols, C12-13, ethoxylated | no image | 1 |
| 67-48-1 | 2-Hydroxy-N,N,N-trimethylethan-1-aminium chloride |  | 1 |
| 68-12-2 | N,N-Dimethylformamide |  | 1 |
| 68131-72-6 | Polyphosphoric acids, esters with triethanolamine, sodium salts | no image | 1 |
| 540-72-7 | Sodium thiocyanate |  | 1 |
| 68527-49-1 | Thiourea, polymer with formaldehyde and 1-phenylethanone | no image | 1 |
| 34398-01-1 | Polyoxyethylene monoundecyl ether |  | 1 |
| 141-43-5 | Ethanolamine |  | 1 |
| 68603-42-9 | Amides, coco, N,N-bis(hydroxyethyl) | no image | 1 |
| 28205-96-1 | 2-Methyl-2-propenoic acid, polymer with 2-propenoic acid, sodium salt | no image | 1 |
| 68951-67-7 | Alcohols, C14-15, ethoxylated | no image | 1 |
| 27306-79-2 | Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), alpha-tetradecyl-omega-hydroxy- | no image | 1 |
| 2610-11-9 | C.I. Direct Red 81 disodium salt |  | 1 |
| 25038-72-6 | Vinylidene chloride/methylacrylate copolymer | no image | 1 |
| 629-50-5 | Tridecane |  | 1 |
| 15475-67-9 | Phosphonic acid, sodium salt (1:?) | no image | 1 |
| 144-55-8 | Sodium bicarbonate |  | 1 |
| 61723-83-9 | Polyoxyethylene sorbitol tetraoleate | 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 Apache Corporation, 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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