Evaluating the Most Cost Effective 

Strategies for Disposing of Water 

D. Steven Tipton, P.E. 

October 29-30,2012 

Tight Oil Water Management 2012 

Denver, CO 
! Water source • Subsurface aquifers • Rivers, lakes or ponds • Rural or urban water supplies • Gray Water • Acid Mine Drainage ! Water transport • Pipeline • Trucking ! Water storage • Frac Tanks (500 bbls) • Modular Tanks (up to 40,000 bbls) • Portadam (size as required) • Pits or ponds (100,000+ bbls) ! Water treatment and reuse • Biocides • Settling • Ecosphere • Electrocoagulation • Distillation • Crystallization ! Water disposal • Evaporation • Water disposal wells 

. 

Acquire 

Transport 

Stimulate Store 

Flowback 

Dispose/ 

Recycle 
Water Transportation 
Water Storage 
Why Is Produced Water Storage Important? 

! In the first 90 days after fracturing a well can produce 30 

to 80% of its load back 

! Newfield has flowed back wells at over 500 BWPH so 

having a place to store water is critical if it is to be 

recycled 

! Water volumes which may be flowed back range from 

30,000 to 400,000 BBL over the first 90 days 

! To recycle water there has to be enough storage for both 

the dirty water and the processed clean water 

! Water must be stored near the completion operation in 

sufficient quantities to be able to support the work 

! Water must be stored in a manner that is economically 

and environmentally sound 
Storage Options

! Frac Tanks 

! Impoundments 

! Large Capacity Above Ground Moveable Tanks 

! Portadam 
Frac Tanks 

Capacity 

500 BBL 

Transported by Truck 

Estimated Cost of Storage 

$0.06 to $0.09/BBL/day 
Impoundment – Lined 

Size can vary 

Operational Requirements 

Terrain 

Cost to Construct 

$500,000 to $1,500,000 

Estimated Cost of Storage 

$0.0278 to $0.0833/BBL/d 

Permitting 

In Oklahoma 6 to 12 months 

In Texas 6 to 12 months 

Registered Engineer Plans 

Geomembrane Liner 

Monitoring 
Large Capacity Above Ground Moveable Tanks 

Size Can Range by 

type and make of tank 

Rectangular 

2,200 to 15,400 BBL 

Circular 

4,500 to 42,000 BBL 

Portadam 

Determined by user 
Load Recovery 

Flow Back 

• Capacity over 500 BPH 

• Replenish frac water supply 

Trucking 

• Could have 100 trucks per day to 

haul water from a well flow 500 

BPH 

• Break even with pumping 

changes with trucking costs and 

disposal fees 
Water Treatment and Reuse 
Recycling Challenge – Water Quality 

! Fresh water 

• No problems with frac 

! Produced water & flow back water 

• Minerals can cause scale 

• Minerals can interfere with frac gel 

• Water quality varies widely 

• Newfield has fractured wells with 100% produced water with no 

problems 

! Study to determine water quality limits for recycling 

• Results specific to portion of basin 

• Results will point to type of water treatment needed 

! Environmental regulations becoming more stringent 

• Air emission rules apply to recycle pits 

• Recycle pit permitting becoming more difficult 
Formation Damage • Potential for solids to compromise fracture geometry 

• Improper fracture propagation 

• Potential for reduction in production 

• Suspended colloids not removed by simple filtration 

Scaling • Increased potential with higher hardness 

• Theoretical calculations and experiments required 

Concerns with Produced Water Reuse 

Fluid Formulation 

• Varied water quality 

• Polymer hydration issues in high salinity water 

• Greater issue with polymer crosslinking 

Source: Halliburton 
Water Treatment Technologies 

created with IBM many eyes 
 Treatment Options 

15 

Chemical

Precipita-on0

•Involves0blending00flowback0or0produced0water0with0freshwater0during0fracturing.0

•Not0free0>0has0a0handling0cost0for0frac0tanks,0containment,0water0transfer,0etc.0

•Must0allow0enough0residence0-me0in0flow0back0pits0or0frac0tanks0for0solids0to0seAle.00

•Risks0associated0with0storing0raw0water0on0loca-on0for0long0periods0of0-me.0

•Bag0filters,0disk0filters,0or0sand0filters0can0be0used.000Other00types0available.0

•Issues0can0arise0from0expended0filter0sock0disposal0and0bacteria0introduc-on.00

•Water0sources0for0back0flushing0system0can0be0logis-cally0difficult0.0

•Involves0pH0adjustment0and0the0addi-on0of0polymers0or0other0flocculants.0

•Issues0can0arise0from0excess0sludge0forma-on0and0sludge0disposal.0

•Chemical0drum0or0tote0management0can0be0logis-cally0difficult0on0loca-on.0

•Involves0the0use0of0equipment0including0DAFs0or0clarifiers.0

•Typically0involves0chemical0precipita-on0in0conjunc-on0with0clarifica-on0equipment00

•Advantages0include0few0moving0parts0and0less0down-me0

•Sacrificial0plates0create0a0hydrolyzed0metal0sweet0floc0that0significantly0lowers0total0suspended0solids0(TSS),0greases0and0oil,0

and0in0some0cases0metals0count.0

•High0opera-ng0costs0rela-ve0to0other0TSS0treatment0systems.0

•Highest0effluent0water0quality.00Can0poten-ally0be0handled0in0freshwater0impoundments0with0approved0NPDES0permits.0

•Highest0opera-ng0costs0due0to0energy0requirements.0

•Energy0cost0can0be0mi-gated0by0running0off0of0compressor0sta-on0waste0heat0or0natural0gas.00

~$1.500>0

$2.00/bbl

~$2.000>0

$2.50/bbl

~$2.000>0

$3.00/bbl

~$2.500>0

$4.00/bbl

~$3.500>0

$4.50/bbl

~$4.500>0

$5.50/bbl

~$5.500>0

$8.00/bbl

There are a number of treatment options available to producers, with options including dilution, settling, 

chemical treatment, filtration, clarification, electro-coagulation, and distillation. 

Dilu-on0

SeAling0

Filtra-on0

Clarifica-on0

Electro>

Coagula-on0

Dis-lla-on0
0 50K 100K 150K 200K 250K 

Total Dissolved Solids (ppm) 

Filtration/Hydrocyclones

I X 

RO 

Brackish 

RO 

Brine Concentrators 

Crystallizers 

Chemical Precipitation 

High 

Med 

Low 

Relative Treatment Cost 

Electrocoagulation

Technology TDS Ranges 

Source: Halliburton 
Water Treatment Comparison 

0 Treatment Cost, $/bbl 

EC 

Distillation 

Evaporation 

Ozone 

Ultrafiltration 

RO 

Chemical 

Precipitation 

Small percentage removal of 

TSS/HC passing on residuals 

Treatment Cost $/ BBL 

High 

Med 

Low 

Filtration 

Hydrocyclone

Water Value Added 

TDS removal NOT necessary 

for most water reuse 

0 2 4 6 8 

Source: Halliburton 
• Fresh water supply 

• Fresh water storage 

•Water recycling technology 

• Influent/ Effluent storage 

• Class II UWD well 

Centralized Facility 

Source: Halliburton 
Water Disposal 

! Evaporation 

! Salt Water Disposal Well 
Example Saltwater Disposal Well 

SWD Wellhead Example Well Bore Diagram 

Source: Bosque Systems, LLC 
Saltwater Disposal Facility Layout 

Trucks Unloading Example Tank Battery 

Source: Bosque Systems, LLC 
Saltwater Disposal 

Saltwater Disposal 

Water Type % 

87% 

13% 

Production 

Flowback 

Disposal Delivery 

Method % 

88% 

12% 

Trucked 

Pipeline 

Source: Bosque Systems, LLC 
Why Newfield Recycles Water 

! Saving Fresh Water – 10 million barrels per year 

! Saving Money – KCl savings of $30 million per year 

! Limited supply of fresh water due to drought 

! Reduce the need to dispose of produced water 

! Potential to reduce transportation costs 

! Environmentally responsible 

! Improved social license 
How Much Water Has Been Recycled 

For Newfieldʼs Britt Ranch Fracturing 

Operations 

50 Million Barrels 
Questions!?!?!