Water management

Oil and Gas Operators Push for Use of Recycled Water

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin hosted its first annual Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference on Wednesday at the Horseshoe Pavilion and presented a forum to discuss the myriad issues surrounding water use.

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Conference attendees mingle during the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference on 21 February 2018 at Horseshoe Pavillion.
Credit: James Durbin/Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Millions of gallons of water are needed to produce oil and gas, and, in the water-challenged Permian Basin, that can mean problems with balancing the demands of the public, agriculture, and the energy industry.

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) held its first annual Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference on 21 February at the Horseshoe Pavilion and presented a forum to discuss the myriad issues surrounding water use.

“This is an opportunity to learn from each other about this ancient and essential element to our lives,” UTPB President Sandra Woodley said in her opening statement.

A major subject throughout the day was the recycling and reuse of produced water for exploration operations in order to have less effect on vital fresh water supplies.

Between 2013 and 2016, Apache used more than 20 million bbl of recycled produced water in its operations and has set a goal of sourcing more than 50% of its water from recycled produced water in 2018, said Tyler Hussey, water resources engineer with the company.

What’s next for efforts to eliminate the use of fresh water and increase the use of recycled and reused water is increased collaboration among operators, reusing more produced water, coordinating drilling and completion schedules, reducing water disposal, and reducing fracture hits on neighbor wells, Hussey said.

Robert Huizenga, water resources manager with Cimarex Energy, said he is passionate about the fact that operators don’t need to do a lot of processing to reuse produced water. He said his company uses a filter and trusts that the chemicals in the fracturing fluids are sufficient friction reducers. He said the company’s goal is to use 100% produced water for future fracturing jobs or dispose of the water.

Ryan Marshall, water resources manager with Callon Petroleum, said his company used 100% nonpotable water on three projects in one area. The water was 80% brackish Santa Rosa water and 20% produced water. “We want to get that to 50/50,” he said, adding the company’s ultimate goal is to use 100% produced water in its operations. “It’s the right thing to do, and it makes economic sense. It helps on the fracturing side and on the disposal side,” he said.

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