A New Low-Cost Alternative for Onsite Treatment of Wastewater

Abstract

On average, for every one barrel of oil the oil industry produces in the U.S., it produces seven barrels of wastewater. In the bustling Permian Basin in Texas, Bloomberg estimates that 30 to 50 million barrels of wastewater are produced – every day.

Today’s most common approaches to treatment and disposal of oilfield wastewater from production operations come at considerable cost to operators and present health and environmental risks. Many conventional methods also require long-term storage and long-distance transportation of wastewater, which can drive up costs and attract public scrutiny. The often-preferred disposal option of underground injection has been subjected to tightening regulatory restrictions in many jurisdictions across North America and as a result faces uncertain long-term viability.

MGX Minerals is advancing a new technology that treats produced water and frac flowback on site and outputs purity levels that allow for re-use or controlled release. Under most conditions, these alternative disposal methods represent significant cost savings and reduced risk of spills.

The MGX treatment system, developed in collaboration with leading water treatment innovator and Katerva Award-nominated PurLucid Treatment Solutions (recently acquired by MGX), removes excess metals and hydrocarbons through a patented nano-flotation and filtration technology. In addition, MGX’s patented process can extract lithium and other valuable resources from mineral-bearing petroleum brine, offering a potential revenue stream to operators in the form of royalty payments.

Not only does the concept of recycling oilfield wastewater provide operators with an environmentally responsible way to dispose of their produced oilfield water, it significantly lowers costs of disposal and remediation. With tight regulations in place on wastewater management and disposal, this technology presents a new option for water handling that could bring a revenue stream. As demand for smartphones, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems and other lithium-powered products continues to grow, this innovative technology builds a bridge between petroleum and “new energy” economies and will play a critical role in the future of the petroleum industry.

The presentation will discuss MGX’s treatment technology and provide cost comparisons to conventional wastewater treatment and disposal options.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90323 ©2018 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 20-23, 2018