Proceedings of the Technical Workshops for the Hydraulic Fracturing Study: Water Resources Managment
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EPA 600/R-11/048 | May 2011 | www.epa.gov Note: this document may contain some elements that are not fully accessible to users with disabilities. If you need assistance accessing any information in this document, please contact [email protected]. Proceedings of the Technical Workshops for the Hydraulic Fracturing Study: Water Resources Management U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA 600/R-11/048 May 2011 Proceedings of the Technical Workshops for the Hydraulic Fracturing Study: Water Resources Management Office of Research and Development US Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ iii Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Workshop Participants .......................................................................................................... 1 Agenda .................................................................................................................................. 3 Summary and Abstracts from Theme 1: Water Use & Sustainability ....................................... 6 Summary of Presentations for Theme 1: Water Use & Sustainability ....................................... 7 Summary of Discussions Following Theme 1: Water Use & Sustainability Presentations ......... 9 Abstracts for Theme 1: Water Use & Sustainability ................................................................. 13 How are Appropriate Water Sources for Hydraulic Fracturing Determined? Pre- development Conditions and Management of Development Phase Water Usage ............. 14 Water Management Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing using System Dynamic Models ....... 16 Water Requirements and Sustainable Sources in the Barnett Shale ................................... 23 An Overview of Current and Projected Shale and Tight-Gas Water Use in Texas: Implication for Local Water Resources .................................................................................................... 31 Enabling Fracturing Operations with Zero Fresh Water Withdrawals ................................. 35 Sustaining Louisiana’s Fresh Water Aquifers – A Case Study in Bringing Community and Industry Together ................................................................................................................. 39 Summary and Abstracts from Theme 2: Flowback Recovery & Water Reuse ......................... 40 Summary of Presentations for Theme 2: Flowback Recovery & Water Reuse ........................ 41 Summary of Discussions Following Theme 2: Flowback Recovery and Water Reuse Presentations ............................................................................................................................ 43 Abstracts for Theme 2: Flowback Recovery & Water Reuse .................................................... 48 Produced Water Reuse and Recycling Challenges and Opportunities Across Major Shale Plays ...................................................................................................................................... 49 A Water Chemistry Perspective on Flowback Reuse with Several Case Studies .................. 58 Shale Frac Sequential Flowback Analysis and Reuse Implications ....................................... 63 Characterization of Marcellus Shale and Barnett Shale Flowback Waters and Technology Development for Water Reuse ............................................................................................. 67 Mid-Continent Water Management for Stimulation Operations ......................................... 71 Toolbox Available to Treat Flowback and Produced Waters ................................................ 75 A Closed Loop System Using a Brine Reservoir to Replace Fresh Water as the Frac Fluid Source ................................................................................................................................... 76 Summary and Abstracts from Theme 3: Disposal Practices ................................................... 81 Summary of Presentations from Theme 3: Disposal Practices ................................................. 82 Summary of Discussions Following Theme 3: Disposal Practices Presentations ..................... 84 Abstracts for Theme 3: Disposal Practices................................................................................ 86 Novel and Emerging Technologies for Produced Water Treatment .................................... 87 Simple Modeling of the Disposition of Fluids On-Site in a Pit .............................................. 93 Underground Injection Wells f or Produced Water Disposal ............................................... 97 Wastewater from Gas Development: Chemical Signatures in the Monongahela Basin .... 103 Revisiting the Major Discussion Points of the Technical Presentation Sessions ................... 104 i Poster Abstracts ................................................................................................................ 106 Chemical Transformations of 2, 2-Dibromo-3-nitrilopropiamide ...................................... 107 Shale Gas Development and Related Water-Resource Investigations in New York State – Cooperative Projects to Promote Public Understanding.................................................... 112 Glossary of Terms .............................................................................................................. 114 ii List of Figures Figure 1. New oil and gas wells drilled in Pennsylvania by year. Green line is represents non- Marcellus Shale, Purple line represents Marcellus Shale wells. 2011 data is projected from January-February 2011 values. ..................................................................................................... 16 Figure 2. Location map of oil and gas drilling activities in Pennsylvania in 2010 (from PA Dept of Environmental Protection web page). .......................................................................................... 17 Figure 3. Potential components of System Dynamic Model for Hydraulic Fracturing to better understand the water cycle. ......................................................................................................... 18 Figure 4. Model Interface of an in situ-oil shale development .................................................... 19 Figure 5. Construction phase model component of the in-situ oil shale example. ...................... 20 Figure 6. Operation phase model component of the in-situ oil shale example. .......................... 21 Figure 7. 2008 Barnett Shale Water Use Summary Estimates ..................................................... 27 Figure 8. Trinity Aquifer ................................................................................................................ 28 Figure 9. MVR Evaporator Recovery Based on Feed Gravity for NaCl Brine ................................ 29 Figure 10. Barnett Flowback Analysis ........................................................................................... 30 Figure 11. Estimated hydraulic fracturing water use in 2008 and 2010 in the state of Texas. .... 32 Figure 12. Projected oil and gas water use 2010–2060. ............................................................... 33 Figure 13. Saline Aquifers in the US .............................................................................................. 37 Figure 14. Hydrolytic Degradation Pathway for DBNPA (Williams et al., 2010) ......................... 108 Figure 15. Reaction with DBNPA with nucleophiles and sunlight (Williams et al., 2010) .......... 109 Figure 16. pH profile for the hydrolysis of DBNPA at 25° ........................................................... 109 ii List of Tables Table 1. Number of wells completed in the Barnett Shale during the past four years by industry and specific to Devon's operations ............................................................................................... 23 Table 2. Typical Marcellus Salt Levels (ppm). Source: Blauch et al. SPE Paper 125740, 2009 ..... 36 Table 3. Water use in major shale plays ....................................................................................... 49 Table 4. Water vapor combustion and hydrologic cycle volume recovery by major shale play .. 55 Table 5. Source: SPE 138222 ......................................................................................................... 77 Table 6. The Debolt Process Flow Diagram (SPE 138222) ............................................................ 78 Table 7. UIC well classifications .................................................................................................... 98 Table 8. Rates of Hydrolysis of DBNPA ....................................................................................... 110 iii Introduction The Hydraulic Fracturing Study In its Fiscal Year 2010 budget report, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriation Conference Committee identified the need for a study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (HF) on drinking water resources. The Committee directed EPA scientists to undertake a study of HF to better understand any potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and ground water. The