Produced Fluid Generation 

And Injection Well 

Disposal Considerations

Shale Gas Water Management Initiative 

March 27, 2013 

Pittsburgh, PA 

Presented by David Yoxtheimer, P.G.

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Shale Development Water Use 

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Flowback Water Management Options 

Flowback management options 

! Direct reuse (blending) 

! On-site treatment w/reuse 

! Off-site treatment w/reuse 

! UIC well disposal 

Treatment technologies include 

! Chemical precipitation 

! Electrocoagulation 

! Evaporation (MVR) 

! Filtration 

During 2012 in PA ~87% of shale 

gas flowback and produced 

water was recycled and ~13% 

disposed of via injection wells 
2012 Marcellus: By the Numbers 

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 US Underground Injection Wells 

• ~151,000 

Class II UIC 

wells in US 

• 80% are 

Class II-R 

wells for 

enhanced 

recovery 

• 20% are 

Class II-D 

wells for 

disposal 

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EPA UIC Well Permitting Requirements 

• UIC Wells are regulated 

under the EPA Safe Drinking 

Water Act and require the 

following: 

- Defining Area of Review/Zone of 

Endangering Influence 

- Injection well construction 

- Injectivity testing 

- Well operation (maximum injection 

pressure rates) 

- Mechanical integrity testing 

- Plugging and abandonment 

- Financial Responsibility 

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Injectivity Testing Requirements 

• Letter of Authorization from EPA 

• Short term testing (no more than 30 days) 

• Volume limitation imposed 

• Maximum injection pressure limitation 

imposed 

• Well must be protective of USDWs 

• Continuous monitoring required 

• PADEP regional offices notified 
Class II-D Wells In Pennsylvania 

• USEPA has primacy for UIC 

program 

• 5 operating Class II-D UIC 

wells in PA with ~86,460 BPM 

capacity with little Marcellus 

fluids injected 

• 2 wells with contested permits 

(30K BPM) 

• 3 draft permits issued with 

others in the permitting 

process 

• Most wells targeting the 

Oriskany sandstone, Medina 

Whirlpool sandstone, deeper 

carbonates or shallower 

sandstones via depleted gas 

wells 

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Class II-D UIC 

Wells in Ohio 

• 181 Class II-D wells in 

OH 

• OHDNR has primacy 

on the UIC program 

• Injected ~14 MM BBLs 

in 2012 

• Average injection rate 

of 184 BBLs/D (7,728 

GPD or 5.3 GPM) 

• New well siting and 

testing regulations in 

place to avoid induced 

seismicity 
Ohio UIC Disposal Well Regulation Updates 

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West Virginia Disposal Wells 

• WVDEP has primacy for UIC program 

• Currently about 70 wells, 13 commercial 

Class II-D wells 

• Target formations include: 

– Oriskany, 

– Newburg, 

– Upper Devonian (Gordon, Gantz) 

– Mississippian units 
Fluid injection can increase 

seismic activity 

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Shear Stress 

Injecting fluids into the subsurface increases the pore 

pressure, reducing effective stress thus causing faults 

and fractures to fail or slip more easily, thereby inducing 

an earthquake. 

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Cases of Induced Seismicity in US 

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Projections of UIC Well Use 

• Every 1 MMCF of Marcellus gas in PA generates 

approximately 8 BBLs of produced water 

• Approximately 3.6 MMBBLs of Marcellus produced water 

generated in 2012 was disposed in UIC wells 

• 1.1 BBLs of produced water is disposed of via injection 

wells for every 1 MMCF of Marcellus gas produced 

• 95.5% of the disposed produced fluids from PA currently 

are injected into Ohio’s UIC wells 

• Within a decade, produced fluid requiring disposal is 

projected to be 3.3 MMBBLs, a 65% increase over current 

volumes. 

• In 30 years this volume grows to nearly 8 MMBBLs, a 4-

fold increase. 
Projected Increase in Marcellus 

Produced Fluids Disposal via UIC Wells 
Conclusions 

• Additional disposal well capacity will be necessary to 

handle this waste stream if current practices continue 

• Innovative waste management practices will need to 

be developed to offset the use of UIC wells 

(crystallizers, beneficial reuse?) 

• Suitable disposal capacity could be a limiting factor in 

Marcellus/Utica shale development at some point in 

the future as reuse demands decrease 

• Induced seismicity can be an issue, but a thorough 

geologic understanding and new regulations can 

minimize this risk 
Questions?? 

Thank you!! 

David Yoxtheimer, P.G. 

Extension Associate 

PSU MCOR 

320 EES Building 

University Park, PA 16802 

814-865-1587 (office) 

day122@psu.edu 

www.marcellus.psu.edu 

The End