Water transportation to drilling sites

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TRANSPORTING WATER TO DRILLING SITES

Dr Martin PreenePreene Groundwater ConsultingJune 2014

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SYNOPSIS

Synopsis

• Background to water supply to drilling sites

• Transportation methods

• Options to deploy transportation methods

• Costs

• Conclusion

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PRACTICE PROFILE

Preene Groundwater Consulting is the Professional Practice of Dr Martin Preene and provides specialist advice and design services in the fields of dewatering, groundwater engineering and hydrogeology to clients worldwide

Dr Martin Preene has more than 25 years’ experience on projects worldwide in the investigation, design, installation and operation of groundwater control and dewatering systems. He is widely published on dewatering and groundwater control and is the author of the UK industry guidance on dewatering (CIRIA Report C515 Groundwater Control Design and Practice) as well as a dewatering text book (Groundwater Lowering in Construction: A Practical Guide to Dewatering)

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BACKGROUND TO WATER SUPPLY

• Significant quantities of water are needed for oil & gas drilling sites

• This presentation assumes that a source of water has been identified and is available

• A key problem is that the water source is typically not on the drilling site, and the water must be transported to the site, by means that are practicable, environmentally acceptable and economic

• This presentation will look at the challenges of transporting water to drilling sites

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BACKGROUND TO WATER SUPPLY

• Water is required on drilling sites for a range of purposes:– Site welfare– Drilling fluid make up– Hydraulic fracturing

• The volume of water required for hydraulic fracturing will be unique to each site and each well, controlled by:– Geology– Working methods – Regulatory constraints

• But it is clear that large volumes of water are required

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BACKGROUND TO WATER SUPPLY

• How much water is needed for hydraulic fracturing?

• American practice (e.g. EPA, API) reports that 2 to 5 million US Gallons per well is typical (this is 7,500 to 19,000 m3 per well)

• The Poyry (2011) Report for Ofgem ‘Impact of Unconventional Gas on Europe’ states that hydraulic fracturing typically requires 20,000 m3 per well. It also states that a deep well with multistage hydraulic fracturing may require 30,000 m3

per well

• These are large volumes for an individual well, and there may be multiple wells from a single drill pad

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BACKGROUND TO WATER SUPPLY

• Water transportation options will be controlled not just by the total volume but also by flow rate (Volume Time)

• The longer the time available to transport a given volume of water, the lower the average flow rate – this reduces the capacity of the required water transportation infrastructure

• Say a well needs 20,000 m3 of hydraulic fracturing water in 10 stages of 2,000 m3 each

• If the water for each stage has to be delivered to site in 1 day that is a mean flow rate of 2,000 m3/day (23 litre/sec) – or 67 x 30 m3 road tanker loads in 24 hours

• But, if the water for each stage can be delivered to site over 4 days that is a mean flow rate of 500 m3/day (6 litre/sec) – or an average of 17 x 30 m3 road tanker loads in each 24 hour period

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WATER SUPPLY SOURCE OPTIONS

• Possible water source Possible access point• Mains water supply Water company source works;

Water company trunk main

• Surface water abstraction River, lake or water body

• Groundwater abstraction Water wells

• Industrial process water Existing industrial facility

• Additionally, there may be an option to re-use some of the on-site water by treating and re-cycling some of the flow back water recovered from the well – this will reduce the water volumes requiring transportation

• But in general, the water source will be away from the drilling site, and some means to transport large volumes of water will be required

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TRANSPORTATION METHODS

The main options for transport of water to be used in hydraulic fracturing are:

• Sourcing on site (e.g. groundwater wells at the drill pad)

• Trucking (i.e. road tankers)

• Surface laid steel/aluminium sectional pipe

• Surface laid high specification layflat flexible pipework

• Buried HDPE pipes (e.g. conventional utility ‘water main’ technology)

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SOURCING ON SITE (GROUNDWATER)

• This is the easiest transportation option – because the water is generated on site, typically by abstracting groundwater

• Instead of requiring infrastructure for transportation, the infrastructure is required on the drill pad to allow the water to be abstracted

• Low visual impact and limited impact on neighbouring communities

• Groundwater will not be an option on all sites

• Various steps are needed to determine if groundwater is available and can be used

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SOURCING ON SITE (GROUNDWATER)

• A site investigation is required to determine whether the drill pad is located over an aquifer and if groundwater is of acceptable quality

• Any significant abstraction (more than 10 to 20 m3/d) will require licensing by the environmental regulator

– England: Environment Agency

– Wales: Natural Resources Wales

– Scotland: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

– Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Environment Agency

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SOURCING ON SITE – WELLPOINTS

• If shallow (less than 10 m deep) sand or gravel aquifers are present it may be possible to use shallow pumped ‘wellpoints’

• These are arrays of shallow wells pumped by suction pumps, can be diesel or electrically powered

• Widely available, simple technology

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SOURCING ON SITE – WATER WELLS

• If the aquifer is deeper, one or more conventional ‘water wells’ will have to drilled

• Wells are pumped by slimline electric borehole submersible pumps

• Widely available technology

Photo: BDF

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TRUCKING

• Trucking of water (via mobile water tankers) is a means of transporting water without the need for permanent or semi-permanent water transportation infrastructure

• There may be a need for infrastructure to fill and discharge the tankers

• Large number of vehicle movements will be involved. This may require road improvements or changes in traffic management

• The impact of vehicle movements should be recognised in

environmental studies

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TRUCKING

• Articulated road tankers can carry up to 30 m3 of water

• Travel on public roads, are very visible sign of a project, will impact local communities

• Large number of vehicle movements required –20,000 m3 requires 667 x 30 m3 tanker loads

• On public roads individual drivers are subject to driving hours controls (like any other HGV)

Photo: Water Direct

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TRUCKING

• An alternative to water tankers is to transport water in ISO containers carried by conventional trucks

• A 20 foot ISO container can be fitted with an internal liner ‘water bag’ which allows it to hold and discharge 24 m3 of water

• More discrete transportation (does not look like a tanker) but more vehicle movements compared to 30 m3 tankers

Photos: Water Direct

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TRUCKING

• It is likely that a fleet of several tankers will be needed for each well

• High flow rate pumps will be needed at fill and discharge points to speed up the transport cycle

• Road system may need uprating

• There are significant health and safety and space issues associated with marshalling such large numbers of truck movements at fill and discharge points Photo: Water Direct

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TEMPORARY PIPEWORK (ALL TYPES)

• Temporary pipework can be rigid and sectional or flexible and effectively continuous

• Generally surface laid (not buried)

• Route choices are:– Line of sight (cross-country) – land access for

working strip required, need to cross hedges, ditches, damage to farmland

– Road side (indirect) – follow highways, need to cross side roads and junctions (trench under road or ramp road over pipe)

• Laying activities and long term presence of pipework needs to be included in environmental studies

Photo: Millars Products

Photo: Angus Flexible Pipelines

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TEMPORARY PIPEWORK (ALL TYPES)

• The potential advantages of temporary pipework are:– Removed at the end of the project– Can be re-used on multiple projects– Can be procured on a sale or rental basis– Avoids the impact on communities of multiple

tanker movements

• The potential disadvantages of temporary pipework are:– Highly visible – Potentially at risk of vandalism or accidental

damage– Risk of water leakage from joints giving

potential environmental and health and safety problems

Photo: Millars Products

Photo: Angus Flexible Pipelines

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SECTIONAL PIPEWORK

• Sectional pipework is available in steel and aluminium, in various diameters (commonly 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm)

• Diameter is chosen in relation to desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs

• Standard lengths are 6 m or 12 m

• Pipe is ‘rigid’ so separate bends, fittings, etc. are needed for major changes in direction

Photos: Millars Products

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SECTIONAL PIPEWORK

• Pipework is laid by mixture of mechanical plant and manual handling

• Pipework laid out by plant (telehandler or rough terrain forklift) but final positioning and connection by hand

• Connections are either ‘quick action’ couplings (e.g. Bauer connections) or bolted connections (e.g. Victaulic connections)

• One crew can typically lay 300 to 500 m per day

• Can be procured by purchase or rental

• Removed and re-used at end of project

Photo: Millars Products

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HIGH SPECIFICATION LAYFLAT PIPEWORK

Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines

• Specialist flexible pipework is available in various diameters (150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm)

• Diameter is chosen in relation to desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs. Smooth bore flexible hose is typically more hydraulically efficient than sectional metal pipework

• Standard lengths are 200 m reels, coupled together (fewer joints than sectional pipework)

• Pipe is flexible and can cope with gradual changes in direction

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HIGH SPECIFICATION LAYFLAT PIPEWORK

Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines

• Pipework is delivered on demountable reels

• Pipework laid out by unreeling from the back of a slowly moving truck

• Connections made every 200 m, typically bolted connections (e.g. Victaulic connections)

• One crew can typically lay 2,000 m per hour in favourable conditions

• Can be procured by purchase or rental

• Removed and re-used at end of project

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HIGH SPECIFICATION LAYFLAT PIPEWORK

Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines

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BURIED HDPE PIPEWORK

• There is a wide range of contractors working in the utility industry who are highly experienced in laying buried HDPE pipework

• Wide range of HDPE pipe – different diameters, material type and pressure rating. Selection is based on desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs.

• Common sizes are in range 100 to 200 mm diameter

• Jointing normally by fusion welding

• Pipework is relatively inflexible and requires bends and fittings at major changes in direction

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BURIED HDPE PIPEWORK

• Relatively slow to lay because of need to trench, backfill and re-instate. One crew can typically lay 20 m per day in road carriageway, 40 m per day in verge, higher rates can be achieved cross country in favourable conditions

• Disruptive during construction but finished pipeline has low visual impact, low vulnerability to vandalism and reduced leakage risks compared to surface pipelines

• Lack of flexibility – effectively must be purchased (no rental options) cannot easily be removed and re-used at end of project

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DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

• Simplest option is single source and single transportation route

• Pumps are needed at source to either push water along pipeline or to fill tankers

Single source – single transportation

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DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

Multiple source – single transportation

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DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

• If multiple drilling sites are to be developed, it may be possible to set up a central hub at a location where it is straightforward to provide water, e.g. by pipeline from source

• Tankers would then truck water the final short distance to multiple sites

Hybrid transportation with hub site

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DEPLOYMENT OPTIONS

• If road access to drilling site is narrow, constrained or environmentally sensitive, tanker movements can be avoided by laying a temporary pipeline to a suitable transfer point where the tankers discharge

• Reduces impact on local communities

• May allow 24 hour cycle of water delivery to site, when local vehicle movements would be restricted at night

Hybrid transportation to reduce vehicle movements to drill site

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COSTS

• Water transportation costs will be unique to each site, influenced by factors such as:– The source of the water

– Quantity of water and required flow rate

– The distance between source and drilling site

– The arrangement of the sites (individual water supply or multiple sites)

– Type of water transportation

– Environmental and permitting constraints

• It is not possible to develop generic water transportation costs per m3 (or perhaps more meaningfully costs per 1000 m3 per km per day)

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CONCLUSION

• Drilling sites potentially require large volumes of water for hydraulic fracturing and other purposes

• The precise volumes needed will be unique to each well and each site, but volumes of up to 20,000 to 30,000 m3 per well may be required

• Once a suitable water source has been identified and secured, the two primary options are trucking and temporary pipelines, although there are options for more permanent buried pipelines

• Reliable water delivery is key to successful hydraulic fracturing, and getting the required volumes to the drilling site is a major logistical operation which should not be underestimated

• Careful planning will be needed to ensure the infrastructure and logistics are adequate to provide the water, that costs are optimised and that environmental impacts are minimised

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Images and costs kindly provided by:

• Groundwater supplies:BDF: www.bdf.co.uk

Groundwater Engineering Limited: www.groundwaterinternational.com

• Water tankersWater Direct: www.water-direct.co.uk

• Sectional pipeworkMillars Products: www.millarsproducts.com

Groundwater Engineering Limited: www.groundwaterinternational.com

• Flexible pipeworkAngus Flexible Pipelines: www.flexiblepipelines.co.uk

• Water mainsMurphy Group: www.murphygroup.co.uk

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TRANSPORTING WATER TO DRILLING SITES

Dr Martin PreenePreene Groundwater ConsultingJune 2014