Produced Water Treatment | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
Whether offshore or onshore, oil and gas are often found in areas where there is a shortage of fresh water. The use of fresh water for drilling and fracking fluids only aggravates the shortage. Further, oil and gas are typically produced with formation brine, and fracking results in flowback water, both of which need treatment before further use or discharge. Injection of brine and flowback water into subsurface zones, which do not communicate with aquifers or production formations has been a partial solution. However, there is mounting evidence that re-injection has led to seismic events in Oklahoma and North Texas.
In previous posts, I have cited encouraging examples of potential breakthroughs in treating produced water. “Rigzone” reports that the most recent example is Fairmont Brine Processing LLC’s crystallization process which converts contaminated fluids into distilled water. Of course, the problem is not what is possible, but rather, what is economically feasible. Fairmont’s process has been used successfully for years in the Marcellus shale. It has effectively treated water containing up to 300,000 milligrams per liter of contaminants for as little as $1.50 per barrel. The process yields water that meets EPA standards for discharge into bodies of water, or alternatively, used for agriculture. ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) grade sodium chloride and calcium chloride are commercially viable by-products. The former can be used for de-icing roads, water softening, swiming pools and as an animal food additive. Both by products are used in chemical manufacturing.
Fairmont’s president, Brian Kalt, is now exploring the possibility of building a facility in Oklahoma in close enough proximity to an oil and gas production operation that contaminated water can be shipped via pipeline, rather than trucked to the plant for treatment.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/147532/Official
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