The E&P Wastewater Recycling Market
Wastewater Generation: A Huge Problem
Flowback Water
- Water is used to drill wells and improve efficiencies - especially new technologies
- 30K to 90K barrels used to frack a single well - each well fracked multiple times during production
- Freshwater or brine mixed with fracking chemicals (polymers used as viscosifying agents)
- Returns to surface, having been also contaminated with hydrocarbons and dissolved solids
- Currently trucked off to a disposal well or other storage facility
Over 2.4 billion barrels of Flowback Water generated annually and this number is increasing with the use of new technologies and expanded drilling programs.
(Railroad Commission of Texas, Public company transcripts, GHT estimates)
Produced Water
- Water that comes to the surface from underground sources during drilling and production
- Contamination varies per well site, containing various dissolved and suspended solids
- 7-9 barrels of wastewater produced for a single barrel of oil or gas
- This contaminated water can not be released into the environment
Over 5.0 billion barrels of Produced Water generated annually and this amount is expected to increase as more drilling occurs.
(American Petroleum Institute, GHT estimates)
