Water management
Yes, as an industry we have a problem, a credibility problem. We have been accused of not caring about the environment. As a result, we have seen investment dollars turn away, and the public perceives that we have lost our “social license” to operate. This is more evident in the last couple of years. I often have discussed how we have many success stories, but we do a poor job of communicating them. But that’s not my biggest concern. My big concern is we are “drinking our own Kool-Aid,” and I’m calling us out on it. We have a big problem but let me back up a bit.
Droughts in Texas. According to drought.gov, 133 Texas counties have USDA disaster designations. This source further details that 65.7 % of Texas is abnormally dry, 44.3% has moderate drought, 27.7% has severe drought, 16.9% has extreme drought and 7.9% has exceptional drought. The extreme and exceptional drought areas are concentrated in the Permian basin. Approximately 12,310,185 people in Texas are affected by drought.
I think we all get it—significant drought issues are in some of the same areas where we operate. Our response was to try to limit the use of freshwater and switch to brackish water. But then, there are other issues where operators are locked into agreements requiring them to use freshwater. Although I’m not a fan of politics in New Mexico, they did pass, in their “Produced Water Act,” provisions that allow operators to cancel freshwater purchase agreements and recycle produced water. We need to see the same type of legislation in Texas. The big difference is in the Permian basin, where New Mexico is dominated by state and federal lands, while Texas is dominated by private lands. Private landowners are often selling the freshwater. So, this will be unpopular, but it is the moral and ethical thing to do.
Furthermore, brackish water is the next best available water for many communities in these drought-stricken areas. If these areas do not see a drought recovery, they will likely consider desalinating brackish water. Brackish water becomes their contingency, but what happens when we are depleting this resource?
Toilet to tap. The concept of reusing municipal wastewater is not new, but it got off on the wrong foot. Using a slogan like “Toilet to Tap” didn’t win over anybody. Today, we use terms like wastewater reuse or groundwater replenishment and have had many of these applications take off, not just here but globally. The EPA published its “Reuse of Municipal Wastewater and Groundwater Recharge” in 1977. In 1998, the National Research Council (NRC) published a study, “Issues in Potable Reclaimed Reuse: The Viability of Augmenting Drinking Water Supplies with Reclaimed Water,” indicating that reuse was safe. Another 2012 NRC study expanded this concept into agricultural and other reuse options for municipal wastewater. Even WHO jumped in to support municipal wastewater reuse.
Today, communities worldwide undertake groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse. This is an even better, more economical option for Texas municipalities to alleviate drought and replenish diminishing groundwater, which is so vital to preserving these communities.
Is produced water a solution? I’m not insinuating that produced water can help in this area. There are many legislative hurdles still to overcome, and the technology is available but not at a practical cost. Produced water may enter this picture in the next 20 years, but in reality, the low-hanging fruit for drought is municipal wastewater reuse and brackish water. So, “what’s the problem,” you may ask. Currently, we produce more than two times the produced water needed in unconventional oil and gas well completions, yet we continue to use fresh and brackish water. And, we argue that the attacks on our industry are unsupported or illogical. Put that glass of Kool-Aid down my friend—time for a reality check.
Despite some logistical challenges, like “my produced water isn’t in the same area that I’m drilling,” these challenges can be overcome. If we don’t create a mandate that we should only use produced water for completions, can we really question why we have a negative public perception? Can we really ask why investment dollars turned their back on us? We know today, if done properly, we can recycle produced water for completion reuse at a lower cost than disposal, so there is an economic incentive to re-using produced water, but yet we don’t.
There are challenges. We know that some operators are forced under contract to use fresh and or brackish water. We also know there are logistical challenges, and heck, using fresh water is just easier. Well, this thinking, my friend, is why we face the issues we do today; we need to change our thinking. Yes, people will want to string me up, but a New Mexico approach to allow water purchase agreements to be canceled, to encourage recycling, is a good move.
But it gets worse. Yes, we need a new mindset, but what motivated me to write this column is a bigger issue. Companies are representing using brackish water and reclaimed municipal wastewater as part of an environmental sustainability program. What?! That’s not drinking the Kool Aid, that’s swimming in it. This is not an environmentally sustainable practice. Brackish water should be left as a contingency for our drought-stricken communities, and municipal wastewater belongs in groundwater recharge programs. We know these economically viable options can alleviate or resolve drought issue throughout the Permian basin. We deserve the bad reputation, if we don’t acknowledge the real issues and address them. Otherwise, we will continue to have a problem.
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- U.S. producing gas wells increase despite low prices (February 2024)
- U.S. oil and natural gas production hits record highs (February 2024)
