Optimizing Water Supply, ReUse and Disposal for Hydraulic Fracturing

Bill Berzins, M.A.Sc. P.Eng.

Cost and Risk Are Managed at Multiple Points in the Supply Chain

Portfolio of Projects

• Montney A: complete water strategy for 10,000 m3/day water supply including licensing, permitting,

intake, pumping system, infield water management, ponds, pumping

• Montney B: 10,000 m3/day intake, pumping stations, pipeline design

• Montney C: 5,000 m3/day water loading station for flowback and produced water storage/recycling

• Cordova A: 10,000 m3/day intake, license and approvals

• Montney D: 3,500 m3/day intake, pipeline, pumping station, approvals

• Bakken A: 2,000 m3/day full service terminal design

• Permian A: 350 gpm drilling mud dewatering and recycling design-build

• Montney E: 19 m3/minute flowback filtration and recycling system

• Cynthia A: 750 m3/day: water injection modules

• Montney F: 750 m3/day produced water treatment and injection facility

• SAGD A: 500 m3/day drinking water plant

• SAGD B: 750 m3/day water and wastewater plant

• Montney G: water management strategy for 1 million m3/year including sour flowback reuse

Life Cycle of Water – Key Deci$ion Point$

• Water Management Plan

• Sourcing Strategy

• Conveyance and Storage

• Flowback and Produced Water ReUse

• Disposal

Challenges to Water Strategy

• Intermittent availability of surface water

• Changing regulations

• Speed of shift from exploration to harvesting often faster than the

supply chain (including approvals) can react

• Inventory rapidly accumulates in absence of strategy

• Flowback is a “sourcewater-connatewater-gas-iron-barium-

strontium-226radium-condensate-polymer-bacteria mix” that

constantly evolves

Sourcing

• Permanent allocation

becomes a strategic asset

• Well-crafted water strategy

(especially re-use) accelerates

licensing

• Probabilistic forecast needed

to avoid over-investment in

infrastructure, especially

storage

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Produced

Flowback

Non-Saline

Brackish

Surface

Conveyance and Storage

• Careful selection of pipeline infrastructure can minimize footprint

at wellpad

• Inventory of rental pumps/power supply supports exploration

phase rather than harvesting phase

Re-Use

• Physical-chemical makeup changes dramatically depending upon

handling strategy

• Water-gas-condensate-TDS-TSS mix that undergoes oxidation,

precipitation and separation throughout life-cycle

• Exploration vs harvesting chemistry different

• Evolution of frac formulation drives will improve

• Turndown ratios can be as high as factor of 10 times during normal

operations

Idealized Process Flow

• Oxidation (Fe=1): O2 (.14), H2O2 (.5), Cl2 (.62), O3 (.86), ClO2 (1.2)

• Separation: DAF, IGF, API, storage

• Filtration: back-washable strainer, back-washable media, cartridge, ceramic

• Factor of 10 turn-down with on-line adjustment

NORM Considerations

• NORM measured in scale and sludge accumulation (c-Ring liner at disposal facility, scale in tubulars)

• Observed activity levels 1,500 Bq/g in bag filters and 300 Bq/l in flowback

• Distribution is not particularly well-documented: reported at Groundbirch et al

• Unconditional Derived Release Limits UDRL 226Ra: Aqueous 5 Bq/l, Solid 300 Bq/kg, Air 0.05 Bq/m3

Traditional Hub Designs

Shell Gundy Encana Saturn

Portfolio of Modular Hub Designs

2,500 m3/dayOxidizer-DAF-Filter-Condition

2,500 m3/dayFilter-pH-Reverse Osmosis

Discharge to Stream

1,000 m3/dayOxidizer-DAF-Filter-Condition

Canbriam 5,000 m3/day Water Hub

Disposal Options

• Deep well disposal options limited in tight

gas fairway

• Evaporation-MVR emerging option at gas-

producing facilities

• Sour water reuse options available within

H2S fairway

Conclusions

• Water strategy and demand profile necessary to guide investment

• Decisions at exploration stage should support execution of harvesting

stage

• Strategic investment in licensing and infrastructure can achieve payback

in <1 year

• Modularity and fast-track essential to responding to evolution of multi-

phase

Contact information:

Bill Berzins, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.

+1 403 807 2782

bill.berzins@k-nowbe.com

www.aquen.net

www.fossilwater.ca

www.k-nowbe.com