Engineering and Environmental Issues Involved in the Development of Water Fields from Oil and Gas Fields

BURNETT, DAVID B., Department of Petroleum Engineering Texas A&M University 979.845.2274 [email protected] and DANIEL K. GIBSON, Environmental Manager, Key Energy Services, Midland, Texas 432.571.7536 [email protected]

Many communities in the western United States will face severe shortages of fresh water in the near future. While fresh water resources are depleting rapidly, a number of these communities are situated in close proximity to large reserves of low quality brackish groundwater. A team at Texas A&M University has developed treatment systems to improve the quality of brackish ground water as an alternative source of fresh water for these communities. This team has developed treatment systems that can recover fresh water from brackish ground water aquifers at a cost comparable to traditional water treatment techniques. These processes also remove trace levels of impurities including lead, mercury, arsenic, and radium from drinking water sources. In collaboration with industry partners, Texas A&M’s Department of Petroleum Engineering, has adapted this technology to recover fresh water from brines produced from oil and gas operations.

The desalination of oil field produced brine for beneficial use is the basis for the concept of converting mature oil producing fields into water producing fields. The technology is based on waterflood process designs routinely used by the industry for decades. To see this technology accepted however, we need to answer a number of questions. Is this process viable? Can fresh water resources be recovered from oil field brine? What is the impact of this new technology? Is it environmentally acceptable? Can oil fields be converted to water fields?

This paper addresses several key engineering and environmental issues in water field development from the perspective of an oil and gas operating industry that derives no profit from selling water, but nevertheless handles a greater volume of this resource than most municipalities. We address not only the technical problems that arise in the development of new ground water resources from oil leases but also discuss the non-technical issues that arise when a material that is normally considered to be a waste byproduct is taken from the oil and gas production facility and converted into a new resource. Issues such as water pre-treatment, membrane efficiency, and concentrate disposal are part of the entire infrastructure of desalination and creation of fresh water resources for beneficial use. Add to these topics, the socio-economic and environmental issues involved in water resource development, it can be seen that there are many issues to resolve before a commercial project can be created.