HOUSTON, Nov. 9, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday subpoenaed energy giant Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) , demanding information about the chemical components used by the company in a drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing.
The EPA issued the subpoena after Texas-based Halliburton refused to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, in which crews inject large amount of water, sand and chemical underground to force open channels in sand and rock formations to extract oil and gas, the EPA said in a statement.
Halliburton, the world's second largest oilfield services corporation, is the only one of nine companies that did not respond to the EPA inquiry about hydraulic, according to news reports.
The EPA is gathering information for a congressionally mandated report on the effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and human health.
A Halliburton spokeswoman said the company is disappointed with the EPA subpoena.
The EPA request, made in September, was broad and could require Halliburton to prepare about 50,000 spreadsheets, said Halliburton spokeswoman Teresa Wong.
The company had already turned over about 5,000 pages of documents, said Wong.
"We have met with the agency and had several additional discussions with EPA personnel in order to narrow the focus of their unreasonable demands so that we could provide the agency with what it needs," she said.
Environmentalists are concerned that the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing may pollute underground water resources.
