AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF RAK

Introduction to Engineering

WATER MANAGEMENT
PROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS
Akif Annayev & Muhammed Al Habsi
Contents
Abstract....................................................................................................... 2
Introduction................................................................................................. 3
Solutions...................................................................................................... 5
Water Treatment Solutions.......................................................................5
Greener Chemicals................................................................................... 5
Treatments Requiring Less Water.............................................................6
Water reuse.............................................................................................. 6
Reducing the number of hydraulic fracturing stages required.................7
Reducing the number of wells required to develop the resource.............8
Results and Discussion................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................. 10
References................................................................................................. 11

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Abstract

Unconventional oil and gas operations require larger quantities of

water than conventional oil and gas operations and usually these are those operations

that involve hydraulic fracturing. Due to this a number of problems originate that can

be addressed using conventional means so some unconventional methods are

developed that need to be adopted. In this report, we will discuss the problems

associated with unconventional oil and gas operations that involve hydraulic

fracturing and the solutions that must be adopted in order to address these problems.

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Introduction

Conventional oil and gas operations require a certain amount of water.

Unconventional oil and gas operations use larger quantities of water than conventional

operations and usually these are those operations that involve hydraulic fracturing.

Usually, the oil and gas waste water is disposed of by means of Class II Underground

Injection Control (UIC) well or by disposal at a local wastewater treatment facility. In

the case of the unconventional wells, the amount of water required for the process to

be completed is more.

The quantity of freshwater used in unconventional wells means that operators

are also likely to see more flow back than in a conventional well. Thus, in an

unconventional well more we observe more water flow back which leads to some

more problems. Also, the waste water flowing back has some certain properties that

present certain challenges for the project. Thus, the quantity and quality of the

unconventional oil and gas wastewater stream presents unique disposal challenges.

As said earlier, the waste water produced as a result of the oil and gas

operations is disposed of bb means of Class II Underground Injection Control (UIC)

wells. This process is limited by the availability of the appropriate geology as some

particular geological conditions are required for the disposal of water by means of this

method. Also, for the use of this method you will require a permit from the state or the

regional EPA office. Another problem is that the costs associated with waste injection

are also on the rise which are increasing at a rapid rate.

Another problem that is being discussed over the course of some years in the

past and has gained a great deal of attention is induced seismicity. There has a been a

great deal of increase in the amount of the reports that received about the induced

seismicity that is in some way or the other linked to disposal of unconventional

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wastewater in Class II Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells. Research is being

conducted in this regard in order to better understand induced seismicity.

We have discussed earlier that the unconventional oil and gas operations

require a lot more of the water than the conventional methods. Thus, the disposal of

waste water from these unconventional operations by means of traditional ways can

also be difficult as these are not meant for handling so much water and also because

of its unique chemical make-up. Oil and gas waste water can be disposed of at local

publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). Another option is the option of privately

owned centralized waste treatment (CWT) facilities, which often treat oil and gas

waste water produced during the process or that injected and then it is shipped for

discharge via a publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).

The waste water that is discharged from shale gas wells can be high in

naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and the water may also contain

some high concentrations of some solids that are dissolved in the water like some

salts, organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, and in some cases some metals. Since

some time now, the discharge of water from unconventional oil and gas operations

into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) has been banned. As a result, some of

the publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) are not accepting waste water from

unconventional wells for the treatment of water.

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Solutions
Water Treatment Solutions

In the past, few years, science has been making progress by leaps and bounds.

The new means of science and technology has innovated the process used in industry

and even in ever day life. It is not limited to that the science has also made notable

progress in the petroleum engineering in the past few years. As with water sourcing,

the industry has shown innovative creativity in the field of regulatory. Also, the
environmental problems that are related to the unconventional oil and gas waste water

have been solved to a great deal thus providing us a much safer and secure

environment.

The cost challenges associated with the unconventional oil and gas waste

water have been addressed a great deal as well. Also, the development, production and

distribution of greener chemistry chemicals with the help of new treatments that

require less water and thus they reduce waste water associated with the

unconventional oil and gas operations. The adoption of recycling programs has also

helped a great deal and we have better industry answers to the challenges that come

with treatment and disposal of unconventional waste water associated with

unconventional oil and gas waste water.

Greener Chemicals

Chemicals are an essential part that are involved in various processes in an

industry. The chemicals that are used in a hydraulic fracturing treatment play a

significant role in the contents of the flow back and produced water. Thus, we must

use greener chemical that are more environmental friendly and do not contain any

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harmful materials in them or in the products that they may produce that may be

harmful to organic or living things.

Keeping this in mind, the use of greener chemicals in a treatment can have a

positive effect, not only on the front end, but also on the character of the wastewater

that is generated. With the development and the use of chemicals that degrade at a

faster pace, there is less of a risk of threat to the life living in the aquatic

environments. There is also a great deal of reduction in potential risks when a spill

does occur and it also results in an increased safety for workers handling the chemical

in the plant. Industry is rapidly moving forward with green chemical innovations and

has even developed processes for determining what is the best performing green

chemical for a particular well.

Treatments Requiring Less Water

There are some ways of reducing the amount of water that is required for the

unconventional oil and gas operations. One of them is fracturing. It is not completely

a new process and fracturing uses foam as the carrier fluid. It may be very useful if

conditions for its use are favorable. In cases where the bottom-hole pressure is low or
if a reduction in the amount of liquid introduced to the reservoir is favored, a foam

based fracturing treatment may be given preference. Foam fracturing treatment

systems may contain nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or a combination of both gases, in

place of traditionally used water based fluid systems. Foam fracturing treatments can

reduce the amount of liquids introduced to a reservoir, as up 80% of the liquids can be

replaced with gas. Thus, instead of using the liquids we can use gasses which reduce

the amount of water used.

Water reuse

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 Recycling is a very important process for heling save or environment from

pollution. In the unconventional oil and gas operations we can reuse the water used in

the process earlier to save reduce the total amount of water used. The recycling of

unconventional waste water in shale plays where disposal options are limited and

sourcing fresh water is difficult or expensive can be a very useful option. Recycling

not only provides an answer to the disposal question but also helps reduce an

operators fresh water sourcing requirements. The quantity of recycled flow back

water that a company uses on its next hydraulic fracturing directly reduces the need

for freshwater.

There is a great trend in the use of recycling water include using both recycled

flow back and produced water unconventional oil and gas operations for the fracturing

treatment. With the innovations in the science and technology, the industry has

developed methods for centralizing recycling treatment and storage facilities to

deliver water to multiple wells or locations efficiently. Also, some additional

treatments such as the Baker Hughes services can service water through a variety of

applications that can be completed to allow for efficient reuse of water.

Reducing the number of hydraulic fracturing stages required

In any industry, a check is kept in order to identify the amount of the product

produced in the different times of the day. This helps in a check and balance.

Similarly, keeping track of the production in unconventional wells allow operators to

identify how much oil, gas and water production occur along the horizontal lateral.

These tools are expensive to some extent and difficult to deploy in horizontal wells

compared to vertical wells because they need to reach the bottom of a horizontal

lateral that might extend 5,000 to 10,000 feet without the aid of gravity.

Only a small fraction of unconventional wells keep track of the production

data. The data from the available logs tells us that many of the hydraulic fracture

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treatments along a horizontal wellbore are ineffective, producing little if any

hydrocarbons. Many operators utilize a kind of geometric spacing with, e.g. one

fracture stage every 250 feet. More advanced approaches are available that require

additional formation evaluation and geo-mechanical analysis to identify the optimal

locations of each fracture stage. This optimization not only reduces the costs

generated but significantly reduces the water usage along with corresponding

emissions.

Reducing the number of wells required to develop the resource

The performance of unconventional wells is highly variable and some

operators believe that large variations in the production rates and recoveries from

unconventional wells is inevitable and unavoidable. This belief can lead to a

commitment to factory drilling in which hundreds of nearly identical wells are

drilled with a focus on reducing well costs. Pad drilling is an important part of this

development, reducing surface costs and enabling reductions in drilling, evaluation,

completion, stimulation and production costs.

Even in commercially attractive unconventional plays, 25% to 40% of all

wells drilled are not economical. Knowledge of the advanced scientific techniques

like integrating surface seismic, advanced petro-physics and geo-mechanics and

reservoir engineering into an integrated model can allow operators to identify the

most productive areas and eliminate the drilling of sub-economic wells. This

dramatically lowers environmental impacts while improving economics and thus it

helps reduce the costs.

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Results and Discussion

Previously we have discussed the various problems associated with

unconventional oil and gas operations that involve hydraulic fracturing. We have seen

various problems like induced seismicity, flow back of water, disposal of water

through class II Underground Injection Control (UIC) well and many others. We have

also seen a number of solutions to these problems like water reuse, greener chemicals

and many more.

In case of class II Underground Injection Control (UIC) wells, the costs

associated with waste injection are also on the rise, with a 2010 estimate of $0.05 per

barrel up to $0.20 per barrel for out of region waste. Thus, this can be a problem

and we have to move to some other solution if the factor of cost is critical in some

case. Also, waste water from shale gas wells can be high in naturally occurring

radioactive material and may contain dissolved salts that may be dangerous. In US,

EPA and Pennsylvania coordinated in 2011 to stop POTWs from accepting for

treatment wastewater from unconventional wells in the Marcellus Shale play. As of

early 2014, POTWs in the state of Pennsylvania are still not accepting unconventional

wastewater. Additionally, PADEP is currently undertaking a study of oil and gas

NORM in Marcellus Shale oil and gas wastes.

Dues to belief of inevitability in the variation of production dates, factory

drilling is employed and even in commercially attractive unconventional plays, 25%

to 40% of all wells drilled are not economical. In order to make this economical as

explained earlier advanced scientific techniques are used. For most of the problems

that exist there is an appropriate solution and these solutions as explained earlier are

feasible in certain conditions for certain cases. Thus the result is that we are able to

solve most of our problems.

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Conclusion

In this we have discussed that the unconventional oil and gas

operations require larger quantities of water than conventional oil and gas operations

and usually these are those operations that involve hydraulic fracturing. Due to this a

number of problems originate that can be addressed using conventional means so

some unconventional methods are developed that need to be adopted. So, we have

discussed the problems associated with unconventional oil and gas operations that

involve hydraulic fracturing and the solutions that must be adopted in order to address

these problems. We reach the conclusion that these solutions provide an adequate

resolution to the problems originating due to hydraulic fractioning and as a result we

can undergo the process of extracting oil and gas with the help of these processes.

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References
Nathan Meehan, Water Issues for Petroleum Engineers: Water Management
Challenges
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/water-issues-petroleum-engineers-
management-nathan-meehan
Ahmadun, F.l., Pendashteh, A., Abdullah, L.C., Biak, D.R.A.,
Madaeni, S.S. and Abidin, Z.Z. 2009. Review of technologies for
oil and gas produced water treatment. Journal of Hazardous
Materials 170: 530-551
Woo, Y.-T.; Lai, D.; McLain, J. L.; Manibusan, M. K.; Dellarco, V.
2002. Use of mechanism-based structure-activity relationships
analysis in carcinogenic potential ranking for drinking water
disinfection by-products. Environ. Health Perspect. 110 (suppl.
1), 75-87.

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