水管理

非常规策略:水资源管理的演变与预测

2012 年之前,非常规油气田的水管理还处于起步阶段,并试图跟上运营的步伐。如今,许多最初的挑战已经得到解决,但新的挑战仍然存在。美国陆上非常规油气田的未来前景如何?

日落时的杰克泵
资料来源:盖蒂图片社。

2012 年之前,非常规油气田的水管理还处于起步阶段,并试图跟上运营的步伐。有关非常规规模、水资源限制、水再利用的经济性、基础设施需求和可持续性的问题已经在考虑之中。行业波动、地震活动和监管挑战一直是这一演变过程中的主要因素。如今,许多最初的挑战已经得到解决,但新的挑战仍然存在。区域水资源管理的差异和挑战是显而易见的。美国陆上非常规油气田的未来前景如何?

10年前的水资源管理

十年来,美国陆上非常规水资源管理取得了长足进步。在 2011 年至 2012 年期间,仍不清楚哪些页岩油区最可行。像巴尼特和海恩斯维尔这样的戏剧来了又去又回来。

十年前,在二叠纪,运营商询问从哪里获取水来完成数千口井的建设。采出水回用主要由 Apache、Devon 和 Pioneer 等生产商在试点测试中进行评估,但由于处理和卡车运输成本高昂,被认为不可行。德克萨斯州和西部大部分地区正在经历严重干旱,这也引发了人们对水力压裂用水的担忧。

尽管存在这些挑战,可持续性被认为是这些新开发领域的一个因素,但通常不足以克服成本差异。

十年前,显然每个流域都有独特的水管理考虑因素。巴肯和马塞勒斯等一些盆地拥有大量可用的地表水源,而德克萨斯州、俄克拉荷马州和新墨西哥州经常非常干燥。大多数地区都有良好的地层可供处置,但宾夕法尼亚州和西弗吉尼亚州除外。第三个差异是新井流出的采出水量。二叠纪油井的水/油比是美国陆上生产中最高的。所有这些差异都会影响每个地区如何最好地应对水资源挑战。

2012年,大多数运营商尚未认真考虑建设输水管网以输送大量水的水管理策略。地震并不是美国任何盆地的一个重要因素。

然而,一些水管理问题正在发生变化。例如,随着水挑战被视为共同问题,生产公司历史上的独立性质开始发生变化。随着公司开始分享有关水管理的想法,区域水团体成立了。

能源水计划 (EWI) 是由一群试图改善水实践的石油和天然气公司组成的。他们的 2015 年水管理案例研究报告为行业合作开辟了新天地。EWI 报告记录了七个趋势,包括使用非淡水资源的能力和使采出水回用更加可行的技术创新。

沙子里的管道
在二叠纪盆地,活动规模促使生产商和水务中游公司建立大型水利基础设施网络,以比卡车运输更有效且成本更低的方式输送水。
盖蒂图片社。

5年前的水资源管理

时间向前推进 5 年,到 2017 年左右,一些宏观经济事件影响了非常规水资源管理。也许最引人注目的是 2014 年底油价从大约 100 美元/桶急剧暴跌至大约 50 美元/桶。美国陆上石油和天然气产量的增加影响了全球油价。较低的商品定价给成本带来了巨大压力,包括水的采购和处理。与此同时,生产商正在增加水平井的长度和完井所需的水量。

关键问题从从哪里获取必要的完井水转移到在哪里处理所有产出水。地震成为一些盆地的重大挑战。俄克拉荷马州在 2009 年之前测量到了最小地震,但 2016 年发生了 800 多起 3.0 级以上的地震。

国家监管机构采取了一系列行动来限制处置,以降低地震风险。到 2017 年,俄克拉荷马州的地震频率正在下降。俄克拉荷马州采出水工作组于 2017 年发布了一份有关采出水和有益再利用的报告。该工作组是最早得到监管机构、行业和环境非政府组织 (NGO) 大力参与的工作组之一。

主要发现包括:

  1. 石油和天然气作业中的采出水回用是最可行的处置替代方案。
  2. 通过海水淡化进行有益的再利用在技术上是可行的,但在经济上是不切实际的。
  3. 应进一步研究和开发采出水蒸发技术。

在二叠纪盆地,该活动的规模正在推动生产商和水务中游公司建立大型水利基础设施网络,以比卡车运输更有效且成本更低的方式输送水。与此同时,大容量滑溜水完井成为标准。该完井设计不需要像前几年的凝胶压裂那样高质量的水。

成本压力、基础设施和水质的结合开启了增加水重复利用的趋势。回用水是在后续井完井时使用的采出水。5 年前,二叠纪地区的水再利用率估计约为 10% 至 15%。在有限的案例中,演示证明,个别压裂作业的重复使用水高达 100%,但百分比因当地物流或公司以及其他驱动因素而异。

到 2017 年,俄克拉荷马州 3.0 级以上地震的数量比高峰年减少了 69%。在二叠纪,3.0级以上的地震仍然相当罕见。更多翻天覆地的变化即将到来。

通常由水务中游公司或生产公司水务团队管理的集中式供水网络正在不断发展,并将成为更好的水管理实践的一部分。这延伸到了美国大部分陆上盆地的核心区域,并进行了大量的钻探活动。

美国环境保护署和州监管机构的监管变化在某些情况下有助于鼓励采出水的再利用。采出水开始被视为一种资产,而不再总是一种浪费。多个州通过了允许采出水责任与托管一起转移的规则,从而鼓励公司共享或交换水。

二叠纪盆地 XRI 水回收设施的鸟瞰图。
二叠纪盆地 XRI 水回收设施的鸟瞰图。
资料来源:XRI。

当今的水管理

如今,非常规水资源管理不断取得进展。据 B3 Insight 称,二叠纪后续井的重复利用率平均约为 30%。许多较大的公司报告称,二叠纪盆地的再利用率超过 50%,其中包括 Apache、Chevron、Pioneer 和 Coterra。

大多数流域供水网络的持续发展减少了运水量,并为再利用或处置提供了更大的灵活性。水务中游公司现在一直在处理和输送采出水以供再利用。这些更大的网络可以有效地输送水并避免孤立操作的问题。例如,XRI 是一家在二叠纪盆地开展业务的大型水务中游公司,该公司强调回收采出水,目前每天处理和再利用 110 万桶。XRI 副主席 John Durand 表示:“我们的基础设施可以灵活使用多孔垫钻井和多重压裂钻井作业所需的大规模水量。”

Select Energy Services 是一家油田服务公司,在中游水务行业及其周边地区开展业务。“二叠纪盆地和 DJ 盆地的每日采出水处理能力接近 300 万桶,加上专门用于采出水和苦咸水输送的数百英里管道基础设施,Select 还能够抵消大量淡水的使用Select 的创新与可持续发展副总裁 Rick McCurdy 表示:“就像消除了道路上数百万卡车的积水一样。”

尽管二叠纪的再利用有所增加,但处置量仍在继续攀升。随着注水量的增加,地震活动性已成为问题。

2022年前9个月,二叠纪盆地发生了169次3.0级以上地震。大多数地震发生在卡尔伯森县、里夫斯县和洛文县。相比之下,2017 年前 9 个月,二叠纪地区仅发生了 3 次 3.0 级以上的地震。

2019 年地下水保护委员会关于采出水的报告评估了水管理状况以及在油田作业之外进行有益再利用的潜力。一些关键结论是:

  1. 运营商和监管机构都在重新考虑传统采出水管理实践的经济性和长期可持续性。
  2. 虽然大多数近期替代方案侧重于采出水的再利用,以减少非常规石油和天然气作业中的淡水消耗,但人们对石油和天然气行业之外的再利用潜力越来越感兴趣。

这延续了监管机构和利益相关者合作的趋势。如今,新墨西哥州和德克萨斯州都有财团评估有益的再利用。希望能够在半干旱地区生产新水供更广泛的社区使用,并减少盐水处理井的注水量。此外,还有希望从该过程中提取有益的矿物质。

二叠纪图中的井
二叠纪油井的水油比是美国陆上生产中最高的。巴肯数据仅适用于北达科他州。
来源:B3 Insight 图表数据。

Aris Water 是一家水务中游公司,最近宣布与雪佛龙和康菲石油公司达成战略协议,开发具有成本效益且可扩展的采出水处理方法,以创造新的水源,以实现有益的再利用。Aris Water 首席执行官阿曼达·布洛克 (Amanda Brock) 表示:“这项专注于水处理的联合协议有可能大大改善我们当地社区的用水状况。随着用水量预测持续增加和干旱情况扩大,寻找和优化新水源势在必行。我们将与合作伙伴一起评估和优化多种技术,以建立一个可经济扩展的流程。”

回顾10年的水管理变革,取得了很大进展。已经发生了通过管道而不是卡车输送水的巨大转变。在二叠纪等关键盆地,后续压裂中采出水的再利用显着增加。

当今最大的挑战是管理水成本、某些地区的干旱以及二叠纪的地震活动。工业界可能会继续建设水管网,以实现更多的再利用。

正在评估机会,考虑从采出水中进行有益的再利用和矿物提取。公司正在可持续发展报告和年度报告中分享有关水管理的更多信息,以展示如何继续取得进展。我们还预计,公司和供水网络的持续整合将对水资源管理效率产生积极影响。我们还相信,石油和天然气业务之外的有益再利用可以变得可行并且将会增长。

改善非常规水资源管理的道路并不平坦。然而,十年来的进步是显着的,未来会出现更积极的演变。成本、法规和处置限制可能是下一波水管理变革的驱动力。


Michael Dunkel是 Tetra Tech 的能源和水管理顾问。他专注于上游和中游水管理超过 10 年,并成为 SPE 会员 40 年。您可以通过Michael.Dunkel@TetraTech.com联系他

原文链接/jpt
Water management

Unconventional Plays: Water Management’s Evolution and Forecast

Before 2012, water management for unconventional oil and gas plays was in its infancy and was trying to keep up with operations. Today, many of the initial challenges have been resolved but new challenges persist. What does the future hold for water in the US onshore unconventional plays?

Jack pumps at sunset
Source: Getty Images.

Prior to 2012, water management for unconventional oil and gas plays was in its infancy and was trying to keep up with operations. Questions about the scale of the unconventionals, water-sourcing limitations, economics of water reuse, infrastructure needs, and sustainability were already being considered. Industry volatility, seismicity, and regulatory challenges were major factors continuously during this evolution. Today, many of the initial challenges have been resolved but new challenges persist. Regional water management variations and challenges are apparent. What does the future hold for water in the US onshore unconventional plays?

Water Management 10 Years Ago

Water management for the US onshore unconventionals has come a long way in 10 years. In the 2011–2012 timeframe, it was still not clear which shale plays would be most viable. Some plays like the Barnett and Haynesville have come, gone, and come back again.

In the Permian 10 years ago, operators were asking where they would get the water to complete thousands of wells. Produced water reuse was mostly being evaluated in pilot tests by producers such as Apache, Devon, and Pioneer, but was not considered viable due to the high cost of treatment and transportation by truck. Much of Texas and the West was experiencing a significant drought that also raised concerns about water sourcing for hydraulic fracturing.

Despite these challenges, sustainability was considered a factor in these new development areas, but usually was not sufficient to override cost differences.

Ten years ago, it was apparent that each basin had unique water management considerations. Some basins such as the Bakken and Marcellus had significant surface water sources available, whereas Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were regularly quite dry. Most areas had good formations available for disposal, with Pennsylvania and West Virginia being the exceptions. A third area of difference was how much produced water flowed from the new wells. The wells in the Permian stood out as having the highest water/oil ratio seen in US onshore production. All of these differences impacted how each region was best able to manage its water challenges.

In 2012, the water management strategy to build out water pipeline networks to move large volumes of water was not yet seriously considered by most operators. Earthquakes were not a significant factor in any of the US basins.

However, some of the water management issues were changing. For example, the historically independent nature of producing companies began to change as water challenges became viewed as shared problems. Regional water groups were established as companies began to share ideas pertaining to water management.

The Energy Water Initiative (EWI) was formed as a group of oil and gas companies trying to improve water practices. Their 2015 report on water management case studies broke new ground for industry collaboration. The EWI report documented seven trends including the ability to use non-freshwater sources and technology innovations making produced water reuse more feasible.

Pipes in sand
In the Permian Basin, the scale of activity has driven producers and water midstream companies to build out large networks of water infrastructure to move water more effectively and at lower costs compared to trucking.
Getty Images.

Water Management 5 Years Ago

Jumping ahead 5 years to around 2017, several macroeconomic events impacted water management for unconventionals. Perhaps most notable was the dramatic oil price collapse in late 2014 from roughly $100 to about $50/bbl. The increase in US onshore oil and gas production impacted global oil prices. The lower commodity pricing resulted in substantial pressure on costs, including water sourcing and disposal. At the same time, producers were increasing the length of horizontal wells and the volume of water required to complete the well.

The key concern shifted from where to source the completion water necessary, to where to dispose of all the produced water. Earthquakes became a significant challenge in some basins. Oklahoma measured minimal earthquakes prior to 2009 but had over 800 earthquakes greater than a 3.0 magnitude in 2016.

State regulators took a series of actions to limit disposal to reduce seismicity risks. By 2017, Oklahoma’s earthquake frequency was falling. The Oklahoma Produced Water Working Group published a report related to produced water and beneficial reuse in 2017.The group was one of the first to have significant involvement of regulators, industry, and environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The key findings included:

  1. Produced water reuse in oil and gas operations was the most viable alternative to disposal.
  2. Beneficial reuse through desalination was technically viable but economically impractical.
  3. Produced water evaporation techniques should be further investigated and developed.

In the Permian Basin, the scale of the activity was driving producers and water midstream companies to build out large networks of water infrastructure to move water more effectively and at lower costs compared to trucking. Concurrently, high-volume slickwater completions became the standard. This completion design did not require water of as high quality as the gel fracs from prior years.

This combination of cost pressure, infrastructure, and water quality began a trend of increasing water reuse. Water reuse is produced water used in a completion of a subsequent well. Water reuse was estimated at around 10 to 15% 5 years ago in the Permian. In a limited number of cases, demonstrations proved that individual frac jobs were successful with up to 100% reuse water, with the percentage varying by local logistics or company, among other drivers.

By 2017, the number of Oklahoma earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude had fallen 69% from their peak year. In the Permian, earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude were still quite rare. More ground‑shaking changes were coming.

Centralized water networks, often managed by water midstream companies or producing company water teams, were growing and would be part of better water management practices. This extended into the core areas of most of the US onshore basins with substantial drilling activity.

Regulatory changes by the US Environmental Protection Agency and state regulators helped encourage produced water reuse in some cases. Produced water began to be considered an asset instead of always being a waste. Multiple states passed rules that allowed the produced water liability to pass along with the custody, thereby encouraging companies to share or exchange water.

An aerial view of an XRI water recycling facility in the Permian Basin.
An aerial view of an XRI water recycling facility in the Permian Basin.
Source: XRI.

Water Management Today

Today, water management in unconventionals continues to progress. Reuse for subsequent wells in the Permian is reported to average about 30% according to B3 Insight. Many larger companies report over 50% reuse in the Permian, including Apache, Chevron, Pioneer, and Coterra.

The continued growth of water networks in most basins has reduced water trucking and allowed more flexibility for reuse or disposal. Water midstream companies are now consistently treating and delivering produced water for reuse. These larger networks are efficiently moving water and avoiding the problems of isolated operations. For example, XRI, a large water midstream company with operations in the Permian, emphasizes recycling produced water and presently treats and reuses 1.1 million B/D. XRI Vice Chairman John Durand stated, “Our infrastructure allows flexible use of large-scale water volumes required with multiwell pad drilling and multi-frac drilling operations.”

Select Energy Services is an oilfield service company that operates in and around the midstream water sector. “With just shy of 3 million barrels of daily produced water treatment capacity in the Permian and DJ basins, along with hundreds of miles of pipeline infrastructure dedicated to produced and brackish water movement, Select is capable of offsetting large volumes of freshwater usage as well as eliminating millions of truckloads of water from the roadways” said Rick McCurdy, vice president of innovation and sustainability at Select.

Even with increased reuse in the Permian, disposal volumes have continued to climb. With the increased water injection, seismicity has become problematic.

During the first 9 months of 2022, the Permian Basin had 169 earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude. Most of these tremblors occurred in Culberson, Reeves, and Loving counties. This compares to only three earthquakes in the Permian above 3.0 in the first 9 months of 2017.

The 2019 Groundwater Protection Council report on produced water evaluated the state of water management and potential for beneficial reuse outside of oilfield operations. Some of the key conclusions were:

  1. Operators and regulators alike are rethinking the economics and long-term sustainability of traditional produced water management practices.
  2. While most near-term alternatives focus on reuse of produced water to reduce freshwater consumption in unconventional oil and gas operations, interest is growing in the potential for reuse outside the oil and gas industry.

This continued the trend of having regulators and stakeholders work together. Today, New Mexico and Texas both have consortiums evaluating beneficial reuse. The hope is that new water can be created in semi-arid areas for use by the broader community and water injection in saltwater disposal wells could be reduced. Additionally, there is hope that beneficial minerals could be extracted from the process.

wells in the Permian graph
The wells in the Permian have the highest water/oil ratio seen in US onshore production. Bakken data is for North Dakota only.
Source: Data for chart from B3 Insight.

Aris Water, a water midstream company, recently announced a strategic agreement with Chevron and ConocoPhillips to develop cost-effective and scalable methods of treating produced water to create a new water source for potential use in beneficial reuse. Aris Water CEO Amanda Brock said, “This joint agreement focusing on water treatment has the potential to drastically improve access to water in our local community. As the forecast for water usage continues to increase and drought conditions expand, it is imperative that new water sources are identified and optimized. With our partners, we will be evaluating and optimizing multiple technologies to establish a process that will scale economically.”

Looking back at 10 years of water management changes, much progress has been made. A dramatic shift to moving water by pipe instead of by truck has occurred. Reuse of produced water in subsequent fracs has increased significantly in key basins like the Permian.

The biggest challenges today are to manage water costs, drought in some areas, and seismicity in the Permian. Industry is likely to continue to build out water pipeline networks that will allow additional reuse.

Opportunities are being evaluated to consider beneficial reuse and mineral extraction from produced water. Companies are sharing more information in sustainability reports and annual reports about water management to demonstrate how progress continues to be made. We also project that the continued consolidation of companies and water networks will positively impact water management efficiencies. We also believe that beneficial reuse outside of oil and gas operations can become viable and will grow.

The path toward better water management for unconventionals has not been easy or a straight path. However, the progress over 10 years has been remarkable and the future suggests more positive evolution. Costs, regulations, and disposal limitations are likely to be the drivers of the next wave of changes for water management.


Michael Dunkel is an energy and water management advisor for Tetra Tech. He has focused on water management for upstream and midstream for over 10 years and has been a member of SPE for 40 years. He can be reached at Michael.Dunkel@TetraTech.com.