Producing oil through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses similar amounts of water on average as producing oil by conventional means, according to a new study by The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology.
Bridget Scanlon, a senior research scientist at the bureau and lead researcher on the study, said the findings are important because of the current debate about the amount of water used to produce energy.
“This analysis of water demand for hydraulic fracturing is critical for assessing the adequacy of water resources to support unconventional energy production,” Scanlon said in a release. “Results of this study can be used in future economic and policy studies about environmental impacts of unconventional energy production.”
The study, which has been posted on the website of the Environmental Science & Technology Journal, compared water use in hydraulic fracturing operations in the Eagle Ford and Bakken formations with previous estimates of water use in conventional operations throughout the country. The Eagle Ford play in Texas and Bakken play in Montana and North Dakota account for about two-thirds of the oil produced by hydraulic fracturing in the United States.
Water use for hydraulic fracturing varied significantly between the Eagle Ford and Bakken plays, primarily due to variations in geology, but in both formations the proportion of water used per unit of energy gained was comparable to conventional oil production. The ratio of water used for hydraulic fracturing to oil produced ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 gallons of water for each gallon of oil produced over the lifetime of a well for both the Eagle Ford and the Bakken. This translates to 0.03 to 0.06 gallons of water used per million British thermal unit (Btu) of energy gained. That is in the lower end of the ratio for conventional production in the U.S. from previous studies, which ranges from 0.1 to 5 gallons of water for each gallon of oil produced over the lifetime of a well (corresponding to 0.01 to 0.7 gallons of water per million Btu).
"The oil and gas industry is using more water because they have increased the rate of production in the United States and are producing more domestic energy,” Scanlon said.
Research scientist associate Robert Reedy and research scientist Jean-Philippe Nicot, both with the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, also contributed to the study.
Funding for this research was provided by the Jackson School of Geosciences and the Shell-University of Texas Unconventional Research program.
Recommended Reading
Stonepeak Joins Shizen to Form Asian Onshore Wind Platform
2024-03-26 - Stonepeak will have an 80% interest in the onshore wind energy platform, with Japan-based Shizen retaining the remaining 20% interest.
Scout Signs Agreement with AdventHealth for Texas Wind Farm
2024-02-01 - Scout Clean Energy will supply a portion of its Heart of Texas wind farm to support 40% of AdventHealth’s electricity needs.
Bunge, Chevron Announce FID on Oilseed Processing Plant
2024-03-05 - Bunge Chevron Ag Renewables' facility will be used to manufacture low carbon renewable fuels from oilseed.
Avangrid Begins Construction on its First California Solar Farm
2024-04-10 - Avangrid’s Camino Solar project will generate 57 megawatts of power, the equivalent of the power needs of about 14,000 U.S. homes.
EE North America, Montauk Sign Biogenic CO2 Delivery Deal
2024-02-14 - EE North America and Montauk Renewables signed a contract for the delivery of 140,000 tons per year of biogenic CO2, which will be turned into e-methanol.