Water Resources Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference May 14, 2013 John Baza, Director Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining
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Water Resources Impacts of
Hydraulic Fracturing
AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference
May 14, 2013
John Baza, Director Utah Division of
Oil, Gas and Mining
Utah Department of
Natural Resources
Michael R. Styler Executive Director
Oil, Gas and Mining
Water Resources
Water Rights
Wildlife Resources
Parks and Recreation
Geological Survey
Forestry, Fire and Sovereign
Lands
Utah Division of Oil, Gas,
and Mining
John R. Baza Director Coal
Minerals Abandoned Mine
Reclamation
Oil and Gas
Board of Oil, Gas and Mining
James T. Jensen, Chair
Ruland J. Gill, Vice-Chair Michael R. Brown
Susan S. Davis Chris D. Hansen Carl F. Kendell Kelly L. Payne
Today’s Presentation
• A technical explanation of hydraulic fracturing
• The recent focus of public attention
• Protections offered under Utah regulation
Horizontal Shale Gas Well Diagram
Surface Equipment Used for HF
Video 1
• Exxon Mobil Youtube Channel – “Hydraulic Fracturing”
But It’s Not Just Shale Gas Anymore
• Natural gas commodity prices have dropped and remained low for quite some time
• Meanwhile crude oil commodity prices have retained a high value
• Successful horizontal drilling and HF in the Bakken formation in North Dakota (it has propelled ND to the second highest oil producer in the US behind only TX – EIA ranking by state, January 2013)
• Even Utah’s petroleum industry is adapting by looking at more liquid dominated hydrocarbon plays
Water Usage for HF
• Averaging 7500 bbls per frac job – completing about 1000 new wells per year in Utah
• HF does not need fresh water – but the water must be free of entrained solids and chemically compatible with the formations being treated and the associated chemicals included in the treatment
• The companies who are doing the majority of the HF have found ways to recycle and reuse much of their drilling, production, and HF flowback fluid
Completions
ACTS: Anadarko Completion Transport System A safe, highly efficient method of moving large volumes of water without trucking
Produced water is recycled and safely transferred between pads, significantly reducing
fresh water usage
Reduces truck traffic, air emissions and fresh water utilization
Innovative Program Results in Positive Outcomes:
Reduces number of tanks on a multiple well pad from ~100 to ~20
Reduced the need for fresh water by approximately 2.3 million bbls in 2012 by recycling ~93% of completion fluids. (240 wells per yr, 60 recompletions)
Reduces truck traffic by approximately 30,000 miles per multiple well pad
Reduces road dust and emissions
Reduced traffic in excess of 1.5 million miles in 2012 (conservative)
Accelerates reclamation
Uses existing rights-of-way and reduces surface disturbance
Preserves county and lease roads and increases safety
What is ACTS?
A temporary staging area
on existing locations that
treats produced water and
safely transport it by
temporary pipelines
directly to the next
completion.
Existing Pads Road Crossing Temp Surface Lines
Today’s Presentation
• A technical explanation of hydraulic fracturing
• The recent focus of public attention
• Protections offered under Utah regulation
2010 – A Full-Court Press on HF
• The movie “Gasland” is released – aired extensively by HBO
• Congressional hearings
• EPA Study
• Wyoming is first state to require public disclosure of fracturing chemicals
• New York places moratorium on new gas drilling
• Social media – HF goes viral
Videos 2
• Trailer for the movie “Gasland”
Videos 3
• Teaser for CSI TV episode
Government Actions
• Chemical disclosure – 13 states require, most allow for use of FracFocus software
• Of those states, several have gone further to require specific operational items such as pre-authorization, showing of mechanical integrity, cement bond logs, etc.
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management is currently considering a comprehensive draft rule regarding HF – this is a second attempt at a proposed rule – not yet released for public comment
• Utah recently adopted a chemical disclosure rule that was effective as of November 1st.
Today’s Presentation
• A technical explanation of hydraulic fracturing
• The recent focus of public attention
• Protections offered under Utah regulation
Environmental Protections for HF are
in Well Integrity
• Association of American State Geologists – “When they [environmental issues raised in association with HF] occur, most of these problems are not related to HF, but to the drilling, casing, and cementing of the well, or disposal of fluids.” (July 2012)
• SPE 152596 by George E. King, Apache Corporation – 7 out of 12 principal conclusions identify concerns related to HF that stem from well construction, well architecture, proper cement isolation, and adequate cement level in casing strings. (February 2012)
Features of Utah HF rules
• Chemical disclosure of HF fluid components using FracFocus software
• Affirmation that existing rules pertaining to well design, architecture, and integrity still apply as part of the HF rule set:
Casing program Protection of
productive strata Casing tests Drilling operations Well control Workover and
recompletion
Pollution and surface damage control
Reserve pits and other on-site pits
General waste management
Injection of fluids Class II injection wells
For additional information, contact:
• John Baza, Director
– Ph. 801-538-5334
– E-mail: [email protected]
• John Rogers, Associate Director, O&G Program
– Ph. 801-538-5349
– E-mail: [email protected]
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