The public interest in what chemicals are used in fracking has motivated many firms to disclose what chemicals they use in the process. The chemicals used, except for those considered "trade secrets," can be viewed at http://fracfocus.org, The Calgary Herald reports. The website was launched by Halliburton in reply to the public interest that surrounds fracking.

Whether oil firms should disclose the chemicals they use has been highly contentious, and many companies have said that the chemicals they use qualify as being proprietary information, according to the media outlet. John Pinkerton, Chief Executive of Range Resources Corporation (RRC:NYSE), recently spoke out about this justification.

"That whole competitive thing is the biggest bunch of bunk I ever heard, and I think the services companies ought to be ashamed of themselves," Pinkerton told investors this month, the media outlet reports. "It has nothing to do with competitiveness."

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated that trillions of cubic feet of natural gas exist underneath the country's surface. The most recent USGS survey estimated that the Marcellus Shale contains 84 trillion cubic feet.