SECTION 1. The Technology Behind Recycling Produced Water and Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Fluid

Transcription

1 SECTION 1 The Technology Behind Recycling Produced Water and Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Fluid Presented by Dr. David Stewart, PE Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC Fort Collins, CO

2 The Technology Behind Recycling Produced Water and Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Fluid Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm Im not sure about the universe. Albert Einstein 1

3 Leadership & Opportunity States & Energy Companies Time to take leadership on the conversion of produced water and hydraulic fracturing flowback fluid to highest and best use Political Opportunity Moral and Environmental Opportunity Shift Public Industry Focus from Negative to Positive As an industry, can we lead our companies to turn this waste into an asset? Presentation Outline Critical issues to consider in the United States What is the impact of the extended drought in this area? This is especially true for the western US. How are local water districts responding to this draught and energy development? What are the regulations regarding reuse of production fluids? What issues have we found and resolved in this area. What still needs to be resolved? 2

4 Critical Issues Facing the US Use of hydraulic fracturing increases supply of domestic energy First time since 1990, the US was able to meet the Kyoto Protocols lowest level since 1983 (EIA report) Energy independence how important is this? Critical Issues to Consider in the US Water Use Well development 1,500 to 15,000 bbl/well Well Hydraulic Fracturing 70,000 to 120,000 bbl/well Chemistry for hydraulic fracturing what you put in you will need to treat if reuse is a consideration Control of fluids, especially on the surface New Federal Regulations vs. State Regulations 3

5 Water Use and Requirements Drought Conditions Drought conditions are either severe or extreme in Western US this is especially true in the oil field areas of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas Predictions of future conditions is continued drought Where will the water come from? What is the impact of the drought on energy production? Availability of water in Permian Basin with extended drought Colorado River basin issues Municipal water supplies are stretched already Lake JB Thomas 0.50% full (0.1% 6 months ago) EV Spence Reservoir 5.1% full (0.2% 6 months ago) OH Ivie Reservoir 20.7% full Requirement for District is to supply water for drinking and public safety water for E&P operations is not a concern and very limited at this point If you don t have water, you can t attract industry Guy Andrews Economic Development Director Odessa Texas Full Reservoir Current Conditions 4

6 Water Use as a Function of Overall Water Management What is the percentage of total fracking and energy development = 0.14% of total use in the US typical - (example is Colorado) Largest use is Agricultural at 85% Second highest use is Municipal and Industrial at 7% All others is 8% This 0.14% equals the amount of water used on an annual basis by the City of Denver. Water Use in Western US Agricultural Use Municipal Other Fracking So what is the issue? Can t we get more water from Agriculture? E&P paid 100% higher bid than farmers Agricultural use is increasing Environmental groups are fighting fracking and energy development in general Agricultural use has to increase production and use of water Municipal uses are increasing Oil and Gas can out bid all others Water from Agriculture will be a PR nightmare 5

7 What are the impacts short and long term? Water is very limited but required for fracking operations The ability of obtaining water from fresh water sources is severely restricted What are the options for frack make up water? Reuse of water What are the water quality requirements What are the treatment issues Is Brackish Water a potential? Western US has numerous brackish water supplies that can be treated for frack water make up Water Rights is it that difficult? Can water reuse affect the formation due to undesirable precipitation Brackish Water in the US Efforts to find new untapped water supplies in the US NAS study on desalination Constraints are not the technology, but the financial, environmental and social factors Participation is needed by all in the development of this resource to limit any significant issues associated with this treatment 6

8 Inland Desalination a Now-Attainable Solution Resources Saline Aquifers Resources Oil, Gas and Coal Basins Opportunity to convert produced water disposal cost to new water supply Kevin Price, USBR 7

9 Environmental regulations that effect water use and reuse? What is the EPA doing now? Hydraulic Fracturing study authorized by US Congress ( Environmental Regulations Does EPA have the ability to regulate produced water and flowback water? Discharge to waters of the US Industrial pretreatment regulations CWA (40 CFR 435) 2010 Effluent Guidelines for Shale Gas Extraction /304m/factsheet2011.cfm#summary) Reuse for energy production would likely be exempt Evaporation pits Air Quality permits Title V permits State Exclusions Pennsylvania Class II Injection wells expensive and waste of water resource 8

10 What are the types of reuse available? Water Reuse facilities Water rights in western US Groundwater sources brackish water potential Surface water discharge Requires the highest type of treatment but allows for unlimited reuse of the water Frack water makeup Some limitations but treatment is straightforward for treatment of this type of water Brine issues this is the toughest issue associated with treatment of produced or brackish waters Reuse (Rather than Disposal or Evaporation) Where Possible Is Surface Water Is this possible? Yes - We have Discharge Reuse permitted surface water discharges in an Option? both Colorado and Utah Surface water discharge opportunities Discharge permit Subsurface discharge Water Rights associated with produced water Colorado experience Other western states 9

11 History of Ownership of Produced Water Colorado Example Tributary Non-Tributary Groundwater HB 1303 how does this apply in Colorado SB 165 produced water beneficial use COGCC Rules (907) Western States other than Colorado Prior appropriation for surface water Permit System First in Use First in Right Groundwater basins use within the basin and control by water boards NPDES Permit Surface Water Discharge NPDES Discharge Permit Individual permit Allows for stream mixing and dilution Extensive time to obtain permit 16 to 18 months State Wide Permit Lower limits no mixing zone Limits are set 2 months to obtain permit Only few states have this type of permit but others are looking to follow Colorado s example 10

12 Subsurface Discharge to a Surface Water Source Still obtain NPDES Discharge permit Need for groundwater monitoring program Very tight limits on monitoring but if company owns the property, you can get your compliance point considerably downstream Issue with upstream vs. downstream values Time issues with monitoring Potential for aquifer storage recharge water on demand and its value Westwater Utah Example Permit Conditions Wellington Colorado Southwest US Facility: Individual permit with surface discharge permit Very tight metals control TDS control (<500 ppm) Sodium control (<250) Adjustment of hardness Colorado Facility: Individual permit with subsurface discharge SAR Control Benzene is the controlling parameter Discharge to subsurface aquifer 11

13 Wastewater Characteristics and treatment concerns Note fracking fluid is less than 0.5% of the overall fluid but has some issues with treatment Wastewater Characteristics Spent Fluids Minerals Brines 10% to 50+% of the original fracking fluid content Natural formation waters Radionuclide s Issues for treatment Gel s cellulose, l guar gums and crosslinks Organic-Metallic crosslinks with zirconium, chromium, antimony, titanium Oil components such as asphaltines, paraffin's, etc Specific chemicals for the formation and fracking requirements 12

14 Most Difficult Issues for Water Reuse Filtration of the water Guar gum is the most difficult item to treat and potentially the most expensive Ranges: 200 ppm to 20,000 ppm Metals are an issue Scale formers or accelerant Hardness (Ca & Mg) needs to be reduced Silica and Barium need to be reduced Boron Iron Guar Gum Scale Forming Salts Removal Targets 13

15 Difficult Issues for Water Reuse Control of organics Asphaltines Parafins Control of Salt Discharge to water ways Control of SAR (Sodium Absorbtion Ratio) Control t l of microbes Difficult filtration issue Sulfate reducing bacteria Water injection into Formation TAMU study Water Discharge Issues CSM RPSEA Study Flowback Chemistry Example (mg/l) 14

16 Wide Variation Flowback Chemistry (mg/l) Note the changes in frack water chemistry with different formations and variability Water Quality for Reuse What water quality is needed for reuse? Economics is Primary Driver Control of organics need for organic free water Petroleum Hydrocarbon Removal (TOC less than 5 to 10 mg/l) Removal of friction reducers & polymer additives Removal of inorganic scale forming compounds Bacteria - SRB Removal / Render Inert Lower TDS to local exploration company WQ standards continually being revised. 15

17 Water Quality for Reuse Several Companies have set internal goals of 50% reuse which is matching EPA goals Some are going for a Net Positive Water Production Goal Control of salt concentrations Control of salt verses changing chemistry for fracking solutions economic evaluation Custom water quality as needed Energy Economics of Increased TDS Feed < 750 mg/l TDS = IX Feed of ,000 mg/l TDS = Nano / RO Feed of 40, ,000 mg/l TDS = Evaporation Feed > 260,000 mg/l TDS = Crystallization Water Quality for Reuse EPA Standards can govern applications depending on final use of the frack water or produced water Watch the EPA Clean Water Act revisions to the categorical standards Be aware of the EPA Hydraulic Fracturing workshops and final report If controlling salts, what is done with the brine waters that are generated? Metals harvesting Lithium example Periodic chart 16

18 Techniques for Treatment of Fracking Wastewater Control of VOC s Benzene is typically the issue Air Stripping (80% removal but might require air permitting) Granular Activated Carbon (99+% removal but expensive with respect to the loading) Control of Heavy Oils Paraffin's, asphalts, guar gum, etc can be controlled utilizing a walnut shell filter WSF will remove a majority of the organics, but small particles of less than 1 micron is size is typically found in the WSF effluent Destabilization of metals and organics Electrocoagulation v. chemical precipitation Typically the economic breakpoint is 30 ppm of chemistry or more will likely favor EC Techniques for Treatment of Fracking Wastewater Liquid id Solid separation techniques Clarifiers Membranes Polymeric Inorganic Ceramic Tri-media Pressure Filtration Removal of dissolved organics Activated carbon Surface activated zeolites Removal or control of salts - when required Removal of monovalent ions IX, Nano/RO, Evaporation, Crystallization Recovery of brine chemistry for reuse Chlor-Alkali process to (HCL or NaOH) Ten pound brine for drilling operations 17

19 Fresh Water & Products 11/784,569 - Purification of oilfield Water for beneficial use (1-5) 6,348,154- Methods to remove heavy metals from water - rare earth minerals harvesting (4) VOC Polishing Micro Plant Footprint 18

20 Economic Drivers Economics is the key to water management Cost of treatment needs to compete favorably with cost of injection Transportation Treatment costs Water chemistry (Texas A&M Study formation study) Evaporation pits will likely not be an option in the future With the water requirements from different industry sectors, it will be very difficult to obtain water for drilling programs without reuse Summary What have we learned? Water use for E&P operations is critical to the future of the industry Produced Water can meet surface water discharge requirements Discharge permits can be to the surface or subsurface State Wide permits are available in some states and allow for expedited permitting Discharge standards can be daunting but with careful design can be met Be aware of what you add to your fracking fluids as this is what you will need to remove Brine reuse and recycling should be considered Harvesting of metals should be considered in the future to offset costs 19

21 Water Rights associated with produced water turn this Summary waste into an asset What have we Produced Water Reuse learned? Site specific Formation will add constituents that might be an issue Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback Water Reuse Viability highly dependant Transportation Economics Disposal Economics & Availability Treatment Economics (TDS key driver) Summary What have we learned? Treatment becoming more refined Customized to influent characteristics & output req. Mobile or Centralized depending on volumes and transportation Pre-treatment removal is key to success Organics Hardness & Metals Particulates Bacteria Control If organics and scaling compounds removed, reuse may be achieved without TDS removal in some cases Water reuse will likely become SOP in many areas 20

22 21