Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

3 Regional Similarities and Differences: Environmental and Regulatory Context for Potential Use of Flowback and Produced Water
Pages 19-28

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 19...
... California thus approaches produced water as a blended material, representing some naturally occurring and anthropogenic materials. Because of the existing infrastructure, water from oil and gas wells is typically put directly into the produced water system after hydraulic fracturing.
From page 20...
... These volumes could serve as alternative source waters for small communities following desalination, as makeup water for agriculture, and as waters used directly for hydraulic fracturing. In Texas one of the biggest differences, especially compared to the Marcellus shale play in the northeastern United States, is that there are 12,000 saltwater disposal wells providing a relatively low-cost water disposal option.
From page 21...
... There is a trend in industry throughout the United States and Texas to make fracturing fluid compositions simpler. For example, a recent increase in the amount of slickwater1 fracturing makes it easier for operators to use very high TDS waters in hydraulic fracturing activities.
From page 22...
... Vidic noted the efforts of the industry sector in Pennsylvania in trying to identify alternative approaches to disposal of produced water in deep injection wells. He emphasized that use of produced water in hydraulic fracturing jobs actually works better than use of tap water or river water where potassium chloride must be added to the water to prevent subsurface swelling in the rock formation.
From page 23...
... Source water for hydraulic fracturing to develop shale plays like the Marcellus in the northeastern United States is not an immediate problem because of the relative abundance of natural surface water and precipitation; the bigger question in states like Pennsylvania is rather what to do with the produced water. In contrast, the Barnett play in Texas has a source water problem for hydraulic fracturing due to the relative scarcity of surface water and competing needs for groundwater resources.
From page 24...
... What is right for produced water in the Barnett shale in Texas may be absolutely wrong for the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania, and vice versa. MODERATED DISCUSSION Stringfellow opened the moderated discussion with a question to all of the panelists about water quality standards associated with the various uses of produced water.
From page 25...
... Stringfellow asked panelists about calculating the water balance on oil and gas activities? What kinds of data are needed and what data are available?
From page 26...
... Returning to the discussion about water budgets, one participant noted that the Bureau of Economic Geology in Texas compared produced water numbers to the water that is injected into producing horizons and nonproducing horizons for direct saltwater disposal. In different fields, for example in the Permian Basin, the data showed that produced water was volumetrically 20 percent less than the volumes for saltwater disposal and injection wells.
From page 27...
... Initially TWDB was going to look at brackish groundwater up to 10,000 milligrams TDS per liter. The Association proposed examining brackish groundwater up to 30,000 milligrams of TDS per liter because industry could use that water in place of freshwater in hydraulic fracturing operations and the TWDB agreed to expand its mapping to include water with 30,000 milligrams of TDS per liter.
From page 28...
... Vidic indicated that some information is available to understand how water quality evolves in different wells in different regions but that the treatment needs may change after the water has moved to the treatment plant; different water streams from different fields or even from the same field over time may have different chemical components, leaving a single treatment approach invalid or less useful. Resilience and flexibility in the water treatment systems is important, another participant added.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.