US experiences in water management of shale gas developments
Daniel CravensWorleyParsons.
The APPEA Journal 54(2) 541-541 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ13114
Published: 2014
Abstract
More than 1,700 drilling rigs are operating in the US, with more than half in Texas. The avid and dry Permian Basin in southwest Texas is one of the most prolific oil and gas basins in the US. Vertical drilling to depths of 4,000 m, with horizontal laterals 2,000 m, is common. The fraccing of a horizontal well requires large amounts of water. In areas that completely depend on groundwater for frac water, the demand for the resource is high. Water transport and treatment costs can threaten the viability of even the best of projects. The volume of water required for different horizontal frac operations, changes depending on the formation, frac solutions and lateral frac distances. Discoveries are being made that have determined that larger diameter horizontal fracs are yielding more product, but they require even more water. The oil and gas industry is beginning to realise that groundwater drilling and resource management can make or break an oil and gas project. In these areas where water availability depends initially on groundwater supply, a complete understanding of the available groundwater resource is critical. Economically viable solutions can ultimately be a combination of new wells, treated water, moveable water distribution systems, mobile treatment plants, surface storage and deep injection of brine fluids. In this extended abstract, the experiences gained on existing shale gas developments in the US are used to address specific challenges faced in Australia.
Dan has over 30 years of technical and managerial experience in the private sector as a hydrogeologist. Dan received a BS in Geology from Colorado State University in 1980, and an MS in Geology from New Mexico State University in 1983. Throughout his career he has been involved in numerous oil and gas, mining, coal bed methane, and municipal, groundwater exploration, drilling, completion, and site development projects. He has also been project manager and/or construction manager on numerous small and large scale well field design and installation projects ($100K–$100 million value), and recently completed a 3-year stint in Perth, Australia (for WorleyParsons), primarily involved in groundwater exploration and development of iron ore, nickel, gold, mineral sands, and manganese mines, as well as rail and pit to port construction projects. He concurrently grew and managed the Water Resources/hydrogeological team at Worley Parsons Perth, Western Australia. He has a keen understanding of depositional environments, structural and stratigraphic geological analysis, geophysics, geochemistry, water well exploration and drilling, well design and installation, geological characterization, well field layouts and construction management. Currently he is working on well field water supply hydrogeological evaluations, well design and installation well drilling, multiple use frac pit design and layout, water management and distribution, water re-use distribution and processing, associated permitting needs, and construction projects, for various oil and gas exploration and development companies in the Permian Basin, Texas, New Mexico and Western Australia. |
References
Texas Water Development Board, 2009—Capitan Reef Complex, Structure and Stratigraphy. Contract Number 0804830794.Texas Water Development Board, 2011—Pecos Valley Aquifer, West Texas: Structure and brackish groundwater, Report 382.
