❓ A parliamentary question regarding the requirements for stress-field analysis prior to fracking in Western Australia, and the Department of Mines and Petroleum's knowledge of stress-fields in fracking areas. The answer reveals a lack of prescriptive requirements and limited departmental knowledge.
AnsweredQoN 4447Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the presence or absence of stress-fields in areas proposed for fracking, and I ask -
(1) What requirements are there for proponents to perform a stress-field analysis prior to fracking?
(2) If there are no requirements, how does the Department of Mines and Petroleum ensure that stress fields are not present in the area proposed for fracking?
(3) Can the Minister please table a map that shows the areas of Western Australia for which the Department of Mines and Petroleum has accurate, current information about the presence or absence of stress-fields?
(1) What requirements are there for proponents to perform a stress-field analysis prior to fracking?
(2) If there are no requirements, how does the Department of Mines and Petroleum ensure that stress fields are not present in the area proposed for fracking?
(3) Can the Minister please table a map that shows the areas of Western Australia for which the Department of Mines and Petroleum has accurate, current information about the presence or absence of stress-fields?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
31 August 2011
Responded by
Minister for Mines and Petroleum
Response time
22 days
1. There are no prescriptive requirements for proponents to perform stress-field analysis prior to fracking.
2. The Department of Mines and Petroleum can and does seek clarification under the application for drilling approval process. Stress fields are omnipresent within the Earth, but the magnitude varies from location to location and is quite low in most areas. There have been a number of overseas investigations that have not been able to establish correlation between fracking and seismicity.
3. Yes. Refer to tabled map [ ].
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2. The Department of Mines and Petroleum can and does seek clarification under the application for drilling approval process. Stress fields are omnipresent within the Earth, but the magnitude varies from location to location and is quite low in most areas. There have been a number of overseas investigations that have not been able to establish correlation between fracking and seismicity.
3. Yes. Refer to tabled map [ ].
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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