American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2019 - 34

Produced Water Paper Offers Direction
WICHITA FALLS, TX.-The United
States' emergence as the world leader in
producing crude oil and natural gas is inextricably linked to ever-increasing
amounts of produced water, points out a
white paper written by John Tintera, president emeritus of the Texas Alliance of
Energy Producers, along with Kylie Wright
with GAI Consultants and Alliance consultant Blythe Lyons.
"To assure U.S. energy production
dominance, it will be imperative for the
Texas oil and gas industry as the national
leader to use water wisely and sustainably,"
declares the executive summary to Sustainable Produced Water Policy, Regulatory
Framework, and Management in the Texas
Oil and Gas Industry: 2019 and Beyond.
The full paper is available at
http://bit.ly/AllianceProducedWaterReport.
The paper, the authors say, provides
facts and analysis that can be used by decision-makers, legislators and voters to
determine the current state of produced
water management, where it may be headed, what Texas is doing right and what it
can do better with the ever-increasing
volumes of produced water associated
with energy production.
The paper highlights produced water
management trends, provides examples
of recycle and reuse, explores the evolving
regulatory and policy framework in Texas,
and provides a fact-based analysis of the
impediments to improving produced water
management.
The authors note that Texas must simultaneously source large amounts of
water for fracturing operations in water
stressed areas, while at the same time
managing millions of gallons of produced water from onshore unconventional operations.
"Water demand for fracturing operations will continue to increase because
of the growing numbers of wells drilled
and completed, coupled with the concurrent increase in fracturing fluid proppant
intensity, well lateral lengths and design
improvements," they write, adding: "Given
this large volume of water, it is important
to recall the context: The estimated
statewide water use by the entire mining/oil
and gas sector remains less than 1% of
all water used annually in Texas."
The white paper discusses concerns
regarding economical and sustainable
34 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

management of the projected increases
in produced water volumes. B3 Insight
estimates that in 2017, the total statewide
volume of produced water was more than
8.5 billion barrels, the authors point out.
Sourcewater Inc. projects that by 2023,
more than 15.0 billion barrels of water a
year will be produced statewide in Texas.
Changing Management Strategies
The report notes that tight formations
are not well suited to accept waterflooding,
which is one of the most feasible options
for produced water use in other formations.
As a result, the move toward hydraulic
fracturing in unconventional shale plays
has resulted in an increased need to
recycle, reuse and dispose of produced
water. Going forward, it says, operators
will have to choose whether to keep water
management in-house or contract with a
commercial water company.
The authors suggest the scales may
be tipped toward midstream water management by the dual advantages of the
operator not having to invest in infrastructure, and treated water may be less
expensive than purchasing fresh or brackish water.
"Produced water management strategies have evolved dramatically over the
past five years with increasing, albeit
low, levels of treatment," the report observes.
Not only does reusing produced water
offset the need for freshwater for fracturing
operations, the authors comment, but
treated produced water works better than
freshwater.
"As treatment costs have come down
and freshwater prices have gone up, operators have been able to reduce operating
costs," they write. "Even if the cost between fresh and produced water were on
par, using produced water reduces truck
traffic and decreases associated environmental and infrastructure impacts."
However, they acknowledge, concerns
remain regarding the longevity of disposal
well capacity, changing state requirements
for seepage/evaporation ponds, and reduced ability to reuse the treated water
in basins where drilling and completion
activities decline.
Data on produced water treatment,
and recycle and reuse volumes in Texas
are variable and difficult to certify, the

report says. Some operators say they use
more than 80% produced water to fracture
new wells while others have made it a
priority to use 100% produced water.
Yet, the report says, other information
sources indicate recycle and reuse comprise less than 1%-5% of the Texas water
management market. The authors cite a
2019 Ground Water Protection Council
report estimating reuse exceeds 10% in
the Permian Basin, but is negligible in
the Haynesville Shale and is slightly
more than 1% in the Eagle Ford Basin.
Regardless of the exact percentage,
according to the report, the data points to
consistent and growing uses of treated
produced water in oil and gas operations.
"Produced water recycle and reuse is
likely to increase as the midstream industry
matures and injection capacity is unable
to keep pace with production," the authors
forecast.
The authors say existing and emerging
tertiary treatment technologies they review
in the report can support cost-effective
recycle and reuse in the field. However,
none are "silver bullet" technologies that
will lower costs to a degree that disposal
wells will become obsolete, they allow.
Disposal options must be considered
and maintained. Going forward, the report
suggests, disposal capacity may become
limited, which will require more support
from produced water treatment for recycling and reuse. It says advancements in
desalination technology may lead to an
economically competitive solution for
the growing wave of produced water in
Texas, and could allow for more beneficial
reuse outside the oil fields.
Drivers And Headwinds
The paper addresses "drivers," or major
factors that influence operators' produced
water management strategies. These include increasing water demands for fracturing, increasing freshwater and trucking
costs, decreasing treatment costs, local
climate and geologic realities, company
culture, and increasing volumes of produced water.
Next, it reviews important "headwinds,"
including public perception, and regulatory
and political issues that are hard to price,
but nonetheless factor into water managers'
decisions.
They note that Texas' well-developed

http://www.bit.ly/AllianceProducedWaterReport

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2019