Protecting and maintaining the environment where we operate is an important part of our corporate philosophy. We start each job with caution and care for the environment, an attitude that continues throughout each well’s producing life.

Protecting the beauty of the areas where we operate is an important goal throughout our drilling process and we recognize that no two areas are the same. Chesapeake partners with government agencies at all levels, and adheres to all local, state and federal regulations. Plus, we participate in environmental initiatives to reduce greenhouse gases and utilize technology that allows more precise information in locating natural gas, so we increase our efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint.

Wellsite Selection and Drilling Practices

Location
We utilize an innovative Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine the location of streams, ponds and lakes, as well as endangered species and wildlife preservation areas prior to selecting wellsites. The use of multiwell padsites also allows us to drill several wells from a single spot, greatly reducing the footprint of our drilling and production activities. We also use the latest horizontal and directional drilling technology to place wells at a safe distance from homes, schools and businesses.

Owners
We work closely with surface owners to ensure the safety and security of our wellsites during drilling operations. Chesapeake begins each job, whether it is located in an urban neighborhood or on acres of rural farmland, with the utmost respect and care the environment. That attitude continues throughout the producing life of each Chesapeake well. Our objective is simple – to leave each wellsite, environment, neighborhood and community in which we operate in as good, if not better, condition than when we began drilling.

Drilling Techniques
Continually improving horizontal drilling and multiple well pad drilling technologies enable us to drill more productive wells while reducing our environmental presence. Neighborhood-friendly operations in highly populated areas require the use of effective noise control methods as we drill, complete and produce wells. Chesapeake is a noise abatement pioneer, conducting our own noise sampling and implementing the strongest measures possible to reduce noise, which may involve retrofitting existing rigs at the same time we design quieter new-generation rigs.

Land
While the majority of the company’s activities are conducted on privately owned land, we occasionally explore for and produce natural gas on public lands. Chesapeake implements a multitude of best management practices throughout our operating areas. Each potential wellsite undergoes a rigorous assessment process that includes the evaluation of wildlife habitats, possible impact on wetlands and trees and archeological study. In addition, we build and maintain access roads and work to eliminate soil erosion near our sites. Regardless of the location, we take measures to conserve water and protect precious groundwater resources, as well as ensure the safety of our employees, landowners, local residents and communities where we operate.

Environmental Initiatives

We’re also committed to supporting numerous state and national organizations whose efforts produce a positive impact with the country’s environment, health, community development and energy future including:

American Clean Skies Foundation
In 2007, Chesapeake helped establish the American Clean Skies Foundation, an educational think tank focused on promoting the greater use of natural gas as the nation’s best solution to the dual challenge of generating more energy with less pollution.

The Nature Conservancy and Oklahoma Energy Resources Board
We are a key contributor to The Nature Conservancy and the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, which has remediated more than 8,000 abandoned wellsites across Oklahoma at no cost to taxpayers, most of which were drilled during times of lower environmental awareness.

Low Impact Natural Gas and Oil Project
We’re a founding member of the Low Impact Natural Gas and Oil Project in Arkansas, a collaborative effort to develop a web-based decision support tool that will enable energy companies and regulatory agencies to share education and integration systems while promoting better communications.

Aqua Renew
Founded under the concept of water recovery and reuse, Chesapeake’s Aqua Renew™ program is utilizing state-of-the-art technology in an effort to recycle produced water. This naturally occurring water is generally laden with various minerals and travels from the producing formation through the wellbore to the surface with natural gas during completion and production operations.

The quality of produced water differs greatly with varying amounts of salt, sand or silt, depending on the formation in which it is found. Due to its normally high salt content, reuse in completion operations has been considered impossible by the industry for a long time.

We began to intently focus on water reclamation and conservation after a 2006 - 2007 Barnett Shale drought started to affect drilling and completion activities. That experience, along with our involvement in the Barnett Shale Water Conservation and Management Committee, evolved into an agreement with the City of Fort Worth to study water evaporation systems as a potential way to reduce the amount of produced water being injected into saltwater disposal wells. Using an Evaporative Reduction and Solidification System (EVRAS) to capture heat generated by natural gas compressor stations, an energy source that would typically be wasted, a portion of the produced water is filtered and reduced to water vapor. The resulting clean vapor is then released into the atmosphere where it eventually returns to the earth as rain. For more information on this technology, visit www.intevras.com/evras.html.
 
Since this preliminary reclamation project, our focus on reuse and water conservation has become a company-wide endeavor, stretching from the Barnett Shale of North-central Texas to northern Pennsylvania.

The Aqua Renew™ program has yet to find a limit to how much recycled water could be used without compromising well production. In fact, the company’s northern and central districts of our Eastern Division operations are treating and recycling 100% of the initial produced water from the flowback process.

At each wellsite, produced water is collected and stored in on-site holding tanks where it is pumped through a 20-micron filter designed to remove any suspended solids or particles. The filtered water is then either stored in on-site tanks or transported to the next well scheduled for hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking. The water is tested for salt content and total hardness to determine the rate at which it can be blended with freshwater to ensure proper quality and quantity for reuse.

While we still have to mix the recycled produced water with freshwater in order to ensure the proper mixture for fracking, every gallon of produced water we filter and reuse is one less gallon of water that has to be trucked to a disposal and one less gallon of freshwater we have to purchase and use.

On average, this process is able to filter and reuse almost 4 million gallons of produced water a month in our Marcellus Shale fracking operations. With such large volumes of recycled water, the company is seeing more than just environmental advantages. Our accounting department has estimated that this aspect of the process is saving an average of $6 million a year in the Eastern Division alone. The program is garnering results like these throughout our shale plays: in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas, 30% of the water being used during the completion process comes from recycled produced water.

The Aqua Renew™ program is expected to continue to grow, thanks to recent regulatory changes in the state of Louisiana allowing for easier usage of recycled produced water and continued technological advances. In addition, we are always evaluating new technology both on our own and through partnership with a number of environmental organizations in an effort to expand the program.

Green Frac
Chesapeake’s Green Frac™ program was founded in October 2009 to evaluate the types of additives typically used in the process of hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking, to determine their environmental friendliness. After evaluations are completed, Green Frac™ calls for the elimination of any additive not critical to the successful completion of the well and determines if greener alternatives are available for all essential additives.

An industry-leading program, Green Frac™ is a decisive move toward an even greener fluid system. By reviewing all of the ingredients used in each frack, the program identifies chemicals that can be removed and tests alternatives for remaining additives. To date, the company has eliminated 25% of the additives used in frack fluids in most of its shale plays.

Fracking is a proven technique that has been successfully used by the oil and gas industry since the 1940s. The process of fracking creates small fissures, or fractures, in underground rock formations to allow natural gas to flow into the wellbore and up to the surface. During this process, water, sand and a small amount of additives are pumped at extremely high pressures into the wellbore to fracture the formation. The sand or proppants used in the frack fluid hold the newly created cracks open, allowing natural gas to flow into the wellbore.

The process continues, however, to draw attention due to concerns over the contents of frack fluids and potential contamination of groundwater by frack fluids despite the fact that there is virtually no risk that the mixture can escape from the targeted zone. Frack fluids are primarily composed of 98% sand and water, but the mixture does contain a small amount of chemicals. This mixture, or recipe, varies depending on the characteristics of the producing formation and the well.

Most of these frack chemicals can be found in common, everyday household products such as laundry detergents, cleaners and beauty products. Some are even present in food and beverage items. While some additives have historically been classified as toxic, many, such as pH-adjusting agents and chlorine-based sanitization aides, are found in approximately the same concentration as in your backyard swimming pool.

Despite their common household uses, Chesapeake, through its Green Frac™ program, is actively searching for and identifying more environmentally friendly options for these products.

Green Frac™ is also establishing simple guidelines for the company and its vendors to provide safe and proper handling of chemicals while on the surface and ensure environmentally friendly fracking operations. These guidelines will also be used to increase public understanding of the process and its necessity in the production of American natural gas.