Water Use for Oil & Gas Operations in Oklahoma

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1 Water Use for Oil & Gas Operations in Oklahoma 2015 GWPC Annual Meeting National Rural Water Association Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Oklahoma City, OK ep 27-30, 2015 Dr. Robert Puls Robert Puls Environmental Consulting, LLC 10/6/2015 1

2 OK Projected Water Demand with Population Increase Oklahoma s demands for water will increase as population increases. The Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan (OCWP), 2012, projects about a 28% increase in water demand for the state by The state legislature passed the Water Act for 2060 in This law establishes a statewide goal of consuming no more water in 2060 than is consumed now. 10/6/2015 2

3 OK Water Use Permitting Anyone using ground water or water from streams for agricultural, industrial, public water supply or other non-domestic purposes must obtain a permit from Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) tream water permits Water running in definite stream is public water first in time, first in right Most water in reservoirs, ponds, and lakes is considered water in a definite stream and public water and therefore subject to appropriation Ground water permits Ground water belongs to land surface owner 10/6/2015 3

4 Long-Term OK Water Permits >6 million acre-feet Permitted Groundwater by Purpose Agriculture Commercial Industrial Irrigation Oil, Gas & Mining Power Permitted urface Water by Purpose Agriculture Commercial Industrial Irrigation Oil, Gas & Mining Power Public Water upply Recreation, Fish & Wildlife Other OWRB website 10/6/2015 4

5 Permitting Trends Increased reliance on groundwater Increased percentage of new permits for oil & gas sector (until late 2014) Increased number of horizontal gas & oil wells Increased volumes of water withdrawn for oil & gas 10/6/2015 5

6 Long Term Water Permits, All Uses New Permits: 103,043 acre-feet OWRB Excel file, /6/2015 6

7 Long Term Water Permits, All Uses New Long Term Water Permits urface Water Groundwater OWRB Excel file, /6/2015 7

8 Oklahoma Water Usage Oil & Gas ector Number of Horizontal Wells Water Usage (Mgal) 2500 Number, Horizontal Wells Data only for horizontal wells, not vertical wells; data from IH database R2 = /6/2015 8

9 Water Usage Horizontal Wells (IH) Year Number of Horizontal Wells Million gallons water used Water usage for oil and gas operations in Oklahoma has increased significantly from 2009 to 2013 with an average of slightly more than 3 million gallons needed per well and up to 10 million gallons per well in some locations (IH database) 10/6/2015 9

10 Acre-feet Correlation of well completion usage (IH) and 90 day permits day permits, data file Well completion usage /6/

11 90 Day Provisional Permits Provisional temporary permits are most frequently sought by oil and gas companies requiring water for the drilling and completion of wells; allow use for up to 90 days. Provisional temporary permits may be approved by the executive director of the OWRB and do not require public notice and hearing. 10/6/

12 Water Usage Trend with Production Decline in Total acre-feet allocated to 90 day provisional permits for oil & gas /6/

13 Water Usage and Drought Oil and gas development uses about 1% of all fresh water at the national scale For Oklahoma, water usage in 2007 was about 2.5 % of all uses The Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan of 2012 projected water usage in 2060 at 5 % of all uses In 2013 the oil and gas sector in Oklahoma used about 5 % of total usage peak year for oil and gas extraction in the state but also peak year for exceptional/extreme drought Drought plays a role in increased usage of groundwater 10/6/

14 10/6/

15 OK Drought 10/6/

16 urface Water Withdrawals 90 day Acre-feet

17 90 day urface Water Permits, /6/

18 Groundwater Withdrawals 90 day Acre-feet

19 OK Drought 10/6/

20 Water tressed Aquifers The Ogallala is one of the most water stressed aquifers in the U.. (UG, 2013, Groundwater depletion in the U..) The alt Fork of the Arkansas alluvial aquifer can be stressed due to over pumping that induces saline water intrusion from high salt zones and can impact surface water quality 10/6/

21 UG Ogallala Well 10/6/

22 Trend in Water Usage, Alfalfa County Miss. Lime 10/6/

23 Water Usage Alfalfa County day permits allocated for oil and gas in Alfalfa County in 2013 was 5250 acre-feet 83% of that was from groundwater Total for entire state for oil & gas in 2013 was slightly more than 30,000 acre-feet Alfalfa County therefore had 17% of the total state allocation in 2013 Total long-term permits allocated for all uses (including oil and gas) in Alfalfa County in 2013 was 26,881 acre-feet Oil and gas represented 20% of the total water permits in the county 10/6/

24 ummary High volume, hydraulic fracturing has given rise to increased fresh water use for oil and gas operations as measured by water permit allocations in Oklahoma Water usage by the oil & gas sector was projected to double from 2010 to 2060 in the state Water Plan Water usage had already more than doubled as of 2013 but fell dramatically in /6/

25 ummary While the oil & gas sector still uses only a minor fraction of total water demands in Oklahoma, some locations have used significantly more (i.e. Alfalfa County, 20 %) ome areas of increased oil & gas production rely increasingly on groundwater and some of these locations are in aquifer stressed areas prone to drought The oil & gas sector needs to increase their effort to recycle produced water and use other non fresh water sources for production well construction and well completion operations to help achieve Water for 2060 goals 10/6/