MIDLAND, Texas—Water is a major concern in the Permian Basin. Drilling requires a lot water, and not a lot is available. Various companies are trying to figure out ways to recycle water along with using produced and flowback water.

The Permian is a leading innovator in how to reuse and, specifically, how to treat water, said Clane LaCrosse, founder, president and CEO of Bosque Systems LLC. “People from all over the world are looking at this area to see how they can reuse water globally.”

At Hart Energy’s Executive Oil Conference on Nov. 11, a roundtable discussion examined challenges and opportunities that exist. Panelists discussed ways to reduce the use of freshwater and increase water recycling, reuse and conservation. The panelists, along with LaCrosse, were Rob McClain, director of project development at Select Energy Services, and Brent Halldorson, COO of Aqua-Pure/Fountain Quail.

“We really approached the oil field with the logistics question: How can we minimize costs? That’s one of the big challenges,” said LaCrosse, who founded Bosque Systems in 2007 after observing a need for additional saltwater disposal capacity in the Barnett Shale. “Fracks in [the Permian] have gone from 80,000 barrels of water to 300,000 barrels [of frack water] per day, so it’s a huge logistics question. That’s really what we’ve addressed as a company.”

LaCrosse said there’s been “a tremendous growth” for the company. Bosque Systems handled about 33 million barrels of water last month, and about half of that is in the Permian. The company offers different solutions that it can apply, depending on what the operator is trying to accomplish, LaCrosse stated. Bosque’s goal during the next 12 months is getting the price of water on the frontside down as low as possible.

“What I’m really excited about, especially here in the Permian, is that water recycling is now mainstream,” said Halldorson, a professional engineer who has been with Fountain Quail since 1999. The Permian is leading the way in water recycling in the industry, he said.

“New Railroad Commission rules allow us to take produced water from company A, recycle it and use it for company B. You cannot do that anywhere else in the nation. I think Texas has the best recycling rules,” he said. “Now we’re seeing produced water being viewed in many places as an asset instead of a liability.”

McClain said recycling is growing and that there is plenty of opportunity in the Permian for his company. “I think what we see is operators are getting smarter about the way that they think about water,” he said.

Select Energy Services’ water-management solutions include sourcing, removing, storing, treating and disposing of water. “We work with our clients to identify cost-effective solutions that will work in [a specific] region or in [a specific] sub-region,” said McClain, who is responsible for business and project development activities centered on produced water treatment and reuse. He also has 13 years of experience at Nalco Chemical Co. and is an inventor on 10 U.S. patents.

‘Reliability Has Increased’

How much recycling is taking place in the Permian Basin right now?

“You can always do more,” LaCrosse said. “I think you have to make the economic equation work.” Bosque is starting four pilots this month and doing full-blended jobs. The company runs about 50 frack crews in the U.S., and 85% use some blended, he said. “It’s not one or the other. It’s kind of a paradigm of all the way from straight freshwater to complete reuse, and when you’re talking about 200,000 to 300,000 barrel fracks you start blending water. Its effects relative to fresh are so normal and the cost savings are so great.

“The economics are there … If we can’t do it for the same cost or lower, you shouldn’t be talking to me. We’re having the wrong conversation. It’s a matter of moving them from blending 5% to 15% to 35%. You just keep moving down that until you get to a point where it’s on target. Again, it’s a logistics equation.”

Halldorson added, “We keep pushing the boundaries, so the price of recycling has dropped, reliability has increased, and at the same time the frack companies have been able to make use of more and more compromised water and more and more saline water.”

The focus is no longer the cost of recycling, and the reason recycling isn’t being used more of a logistics issue, he said. “You can recycle and reuse your water, [but] do you have containment and transfer in place to make use of it where you need it? That’s the challenge.”

Companies such as Select are integrating containment and transfer systems to provide solutions, he said. “The other thing I’m seeing in the Permian is that a lot of the producers ̶ especially the larger producers ̶ are starting to interconnect their own pit networks and put all that infrastructure in. That’s huge for me as a recycler because now I don’t have to get that water to your frack site. We need to get it into the nearest pit, and they’re all interconnected, so I’m going to put it into a pit and it may end up getting used 10 miles away.”

Brine Water

There is a lot of brine water in the Permian Basin. When asked if this a good source of water in terms of making it something the operators can use in their wells, Halldorson responded, “Absolutely.”

“We’re seeing [brine water] play a big part in water management, and frack companies are able to use that saline water. I caution people when they’re planning on using a lot of brackish water and Santa Rosa-type water. Ownership will be an issue going forward. I think people are looking at who owns brackish water; it’s a bit of a gray area right now. We also need to know how these aquifers interrelate with each other, and if we start drawing really heavily on the saline aquifer, will that impact nearby freshwater aquifers? That’s a big question we need to understand,” Halldorson said. “So I always caution people to make sure they study the hydrogeology to the extent they can.”

Disposal Concerns

Byproducts from water treating can become a disposal concern, Halldorson said. “If you’re doing brine treatment, generally what you’re doing is 100% water in, 100% water out. What you’re removing is oil, which is good, and solids. The solid cake that you remove is a disposal issue.”

If dirty water is used on the backside, that can cause more issues, LaCrosse added. “There’s eight touch-points in a well from the time you frack it to the time you produce it, and if you’re not caring for the quality of water it will destroy the integrity of that well. That’s the biggest cost as a producer that you should be worried about.”