PBIOS - October 2021 - 130

Permian Basin Reports
" We also have a line walker app for
auditing our pumps and water transfer
lines on a route, " Fanguy shares. " There
are prompts for operators that they can
customize to check different functionality
of the equipment. If something around
the line changes or something looks like
it may become an issue, the app makes it
easy to snap a photo and alert others so it
can be addressed. "
As part of its quest for efficient and
sustainable operations, Fanguy says
TETRA is working with many of its operators
to electrify centralized recycling
facilities that will be in use for several
years. " It's fascinating to go to these
sites, " he comments. " There are no engine
emissions, and even when the facility
is handling 100,000 barrels of water a
day, it's quiet. "
The company's innovation teams are
developing ways to reuse produced water
outside the oil and gas industry or to return
it safely to the environment,
Reynolds adds. " Given how much produced
water wells generate, figuring out
how to do that is essential for the industry's
long-term health, " he says.
Refining Processes
COVID helped accelerate a move toward
more efficient water treatment facilities,
says Mark Patton, president of
Hydrozonix. " We wanted to make productive
use of our time when activity fell, so
we focused on improving our processes, "
he recalls. " We were able to completely
automate our recycling facilities' day-today
operations. They still need maintenance
techs to visit once a week, but they
otherwise are monitored remotely. "
According to Patton, the key to maximizing
automation is simplifying
processes, including replacing chemical
processes with mechanical ones wherever
possible. " Chemicals have to be replenished,
which means people need to be on
site more frequently, " he explains.
It's also vital to minimize open top
tanks and pressure vessels, Patton emphasizes.
" One of the reasons many facilities
have people on site is to respond
in case open-top tanks overflow or
pressure vessels leak, " he says. " We
have float gauges inside our containment
that will turn everything off if a
spill starts to occur and cameras on
many of our systems so we can see
what is going on remotely. "
In 2020, Hydrozonix also automated
the water treatment systems it deploys
to help operators prepare completion
fluids at the frac site. " During pilots, we
had someone on site log how often he
interacted with the system. He almost
never did, but at least in the short term,
customers want a person on site to answer
questions.
" We are starting to see that change as
companies look for ways to reduce their
carbon footprints, including the number
of people who have to drive to and from
the pad, " Patton reports. " To ensure they
still can get answers quickly, our systems
have buttons that call live operators. "
Evaporation
In the long run, the industry will need
alternatives to recycling or injecting produced
water, Patton argues. " Today, the
industry generates almost three times as
much water as it uses for completions.
Even at our peak hydraulic fracturing activity,
we still generate twice as much, "
he says.
The excess normally would go to unInsurance
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derground injection wells, Patton notes.
" However, disposal well costs are going
up. It takes longer to get a permit, and because
of concerns about induced seismicity,
the newer permits in Texas give the
Railroad Commission the flexibility to restrict
wells' capacity or shut them down
if there are seismic events. "
Patton says these permits leave " seis1-800-475-4477
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130
THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
mic event " undefined, which can make it
difficult to assess the risk a well will need
to operate below capacity.
Evaporation is one alternative to injection.
" Operators have been looking at
evaporation but are reluctant to do it because
conventional systems can leave salt
dust in the area. This occurs when wind
picks up the spray the systems produce
before it evaporates and deposits the salt
in and around the pond. "
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PBIOS - October 2021

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