Northern Great Plains WaterConsortium (NGPWC)Bakken Water Opportunities AssessmentNorth Dakota Petroleum Council Annual MeetingSeptember 2009Background• Water is the most critical limiting resourcethroughout the world.• Sustainable water supplies are needed for:– Energy production.– Growing and processing high-value crops.– Industrial manufacturing.– Expanding populations.NGPWC• The Energy & Environmental Research Center(EERC) has developed a partnership betweenthe U.S. Department of Energy and keystakeholders, representing electrical powergeneration utilities, oil and gas companies,industry, municipalities, and other interestedentities to address critical issues that impact thewater resources of the northern Great Plainsregion.NGPWC Region• The NGPWC expands the geographicextent and the membership of the EERC’sRed River Water ManagementConsortium.NGPWC Goals and Objectives• The overall goal of this program is toassess, develop, and demonstratetechnologies and methodologies thatminimize water use and reduce impactedwater discharges from a range of energytechnologies, including coal combustion,coal gasification, coalbed methane, and oiland natural gas production.NGPWC Fact SheetsBakken Water Opportunities• Project to assess the economic potential torecycle frac flowback water in the Bakkenplay• Project Sponsors– U.S. Department of Energy– North Dakota Petroleum Council– North Dakota Industrial Commission Oil & GasResearch CouncilBakken Formation• Described in 1953 by J.W. Nordquist.• Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age.• 200,000 square miles covering parts of Montana,North Dakota, and Saskatchewan.• Bakken Formation consists of three members:– Lower shale– Middle dolomite– Upper shale• Upper and lower shales are the source rock;Middle Bakken is the reservoir.• April 2008 USGS estimate of 3.0 to 4.3 billionbbls of technically recoverable oil.• 2.1 billion bbls technically recoverable in theNorth Dakota portion of the Bakken.Bakken Frac Water• Frac water is freshwater thatis used to pressurize andfracture oil-bearing formationsto increase permeability andenhance the flow andrecovery of oil.• As much as 1.0 milliongallons of water per well tofracture the BakkenFormation.• Typically transported to wellsite in 7500- to 8000-gallontanker trucks.• Transportation costs for longhaul distances can beexcessive.Water Permitting Issues inNorth Dakota• Permits to obtain water from high-qualitygroundwater sources can be difficult and timeconsuming to obtain.• The North Dakota State Water Commission(SWC) is encouraging withdrawal of water fromthe Missouri River system for uses like fracing.• The SWC and Corps of Engineers are currentlyworking together to identify “low-risk” corridorsfor water extraction (i.e., easy access, lowprobability of cultural features, etc...).Bakken Water Opportunities• Task 1 – Inventory IndustryFreshwater Use– Water acquisition locations– Current Bakken reuse/recyclingefforts– Key water quality constraints foruse/reuse• Task 2 – Assess FlowbackQuality with Time and Location– Detail general chemical makeupand variation with differenttechnology, geology, etc.– Develop sampling and analysisplan– Conduct a sampling andanalysis campaign at selectedindustry locationsBakken Water Opportunities• Task 3 – EvaluateCurrent WaterHandling Costs– Detail water acquisitioncosts (includingtransportation)– Detail water disposalcosts (includingtransportation)Bakken Water Opportunities• Task 4 – Evaluate Feasibilityof Recycle/ReuseTechnologies– Evaluate technical suitabilityof existing technologies forBakken flow– Evaluate economic suitabilityof existing technologies forBakken flowback• Task 5 – Assess CurrentState of Existing RecyclingTechnologies– Interview technology vendorsand operators utilizingtechnologies (Barnett) – visitlocationsBakken Water Opportunities• Task 6 – Detail Phase IIRecommendations and PlansProject Status• Samples have been analyzed and/or datahave been collected from four of fiveproducers participating in the assessment.• Extensive, but not comprehensive, fracflowback water chemistry data.• Technology review and capabilitiesassessment.• Preliminary economic assessment.Frac Flowback Water Characteristics• Relatively low recovery of the original fracwater within the first 10 days.– Ranges from 15% to 50% recovery• Very high salinity in flowback water.– Salinity levels as high as 200,000 mg/L• Water chemistry is predominantly sodiumchloride (NaCl), with lesser amounts ofcalcium, potassium, and sulfate.Flowback Water Samples0500100015002000250030003500400045000 20 40 60 80 100 120 140Time, hr

Cumulative Flowback, bblWaterOilTotal FlowbackFrac Flowback Water Chemistry(values in mg/L unless otherwise noted)CationsBarium 13Calcium 9020Iron77Magnesium 720Potassium 3550Sodium 45,100AnionsChloride 91,300Sulfate 440OtherpH, units 6.3Salinity 200,000Conductivity, mS/cm 180Frac Flowback Water Treatment• Oil fieldcompatible• Robust• Mobile• Existingtechnology• High treatedwater recoveryBakken Recycling Challenges• Slow recovery of flowback water• Relatively low volume initial recovery• Extremely high dissolved salts early in theflowback• Treatment very challenging, even with themost robust technologies• Treatment very likely not cost-effective inmost casesCurrent Frac Water Costs• Acquisition costs– $0.25–$0.75 raw water cost– $0.63–$5.00 transportation costs• Disposal costs– $0.63–$5.00 transportation– $0.50–$1.00 disposal via deep well injection• Total costs– $2.00–$11.75/bblNew Water Opportunity• Access to freshwater for hydraulicfracturing continues to be a challenge.• Abundant supply of marginal-qualitygroundwater that is not a potential USDW.• Treatment of nonpotable groundwater mayprovide an economical alternativeresource.Groundwater TreatmentDemonstration• Phase II of the existing Bakken WaterOpportunities project could provide aportion of the necessary financialresources.• Industry partner and potentialdemonstration location tentativelyidentified.• EERC in discussions with technologyproviders (MVR and RO)Contact InformationJohn HarjuAssociate Director for ResearchEnergy & Environmental Research Center15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018Grand Forks, ND 58202-9018(701) 777-5157jharju@undeerc.orgContact InformationJohn HarjuAssociate Director for ResearchEnergy & Environmental Research Center15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018Grand Forks, ND 58202-9018(701) 777-5157jharju@undeerc.org