This document discusses produced water, which is water brought to the surface during oil and gas production. It defines produced water and its characteristics, such as high salinity. It provides data on produced water volumes in the US and internationally, and the different management practices used. Finally, it outlines how the water needs and volumes produced vary between different types of hydrocarbon production such as conventional, coalbed methane, shale gas, and oil sands. While shale gas receives significant attention, it accounts for less than 6% of total produced water in the US.

1. Introduction to
Produced Water
John Veil
410-212-0950
john@veilenvironmental.com
www.veilenvironmental.com
Fossil Fuel Produced Water: Asset Or Waste?
Atlantic Council
Washington, DC
June 24-25 2013

2. 2
Topics for Discussion
 What is produced water?
 U.S water volumes and management
practices
 Different water issues for each type of
hydrocarbon production

3. What Is Produced Water – View from the White House
3

4. 4
What is Produced Water?
 Water that comes to the surface with oil
and gas
 Contains many chemical constituents
– Salt content (salinity, total dissolved solids
[TDS], electrical conductivity)
– Oil and grease
• Composite of many hydrocarbons and other
organic materials
– Toxicity from various natural inorganic and
organic compounds or chemical additives
– NORM

5. A View of Produced Water inside the Well

6. 6
Produced Water Characteristics
 Usually is salty
– Chlorides vary from <1 to >200,000 mg/l
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
Cryst al
Geyser
M t n V aley Evian Perrier Swiss Alp Hayden Club Soda V it t el Panaf iel E. Powder Gerolst einerAppollinaris
TotalDissolvedSolids(ppm)
Source: S. DeAlbuquerque, ConocoPhillips
Bottled drinking water
Produced water

7. 7
Produced Water Volume Changes Over Time in a Well and a
Field
onal vs. CBM Well Behavior
Source: S. DeAlbuquerque, ConocoPhillips
OIL AND GAS
CBM GAS
WATER
Producing Time
Producing Time
rains
Matrix
leats
RateRate
WATER
• Conventional oil and gas well
• Coal bed methane well
• Shale gas wells behave in a
similar manner

8. 8
International Distribution of Oil Wells
Geographic Region # Producing Oil Wells as of
December 2008
Asia Pacific 88,691
Western Europe 6,208
Eastern Europe & Former Soviet
Union
120,049
Middle East 12,203
Africa 9,984
Latin America & Caribbean 69,580
Canada 62,519
U.S. 498,619
Total 867,853
Source: Oil & Gas Journal, December 22, 2008

9. 9
Number of U.S. Producing Wells
(oil and gas combined)
Type of Well Total
Onshore (low production) 718,976 (2006)
Onshore (high production) 217,214 (2004)
Offshore 7,961 (2004)
Total 944,151
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration and
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission

10. 10
Produced Water
Volumes and
Management Practices

11. Detailed Produced Water Inventory for the U.S.
• Clark, C.E., and J.A. Veil, 2009, Produced Water
Volumes and Management Practices in the United
States.
• The report contains detailed produced water volume
data for States, Federal Lands, and offshore in 2007
• ~21 billion bbl/year
• ~58 million bbl/day or 2.4 billion gallons/day
• ~3.3 billion m3/year or 9.2 million m3/day
• The report also provides estimates of water-to-oil
ratio
• World-wide estimate – 2:1 to 3:1
• U.S. estimate – 5:1 to 8:1
• with more complete data sets that include TX and
OK data, this would be >10:1
11
To download a copy of the report, go to:
http://www.veilenvironmental.com/publications/pw/ANL_EVS__R09_produced_
water_volume_report_2437.pdf

12. U.S. Produced Water Volume by Management Practice
for 2007 (1,000 bbl/year)
Injection for
Enhanced
Recovery
Injection
for
Disposal
Surface
Discharge
Total
Managed
Total
Generated
Onshore
Total 10,676,530 7,144,071 139,002 18,057,527 20,258,560
Offshore
Total 48,673 1,298 537,381 587,353 587,353
Total 10,725,203 7,145,369 676,383 18,644,880 20,995,174
12
• Onshore – 98% goes to injection wells
• 60% to enhanced recovery
• 40% to disposal
• Offshore – 91% goes to discharge
• Overall for U.S. – 96% goes to discharge

13. Disproportionate Emphasis on Shale Gas Wastewater
 Assumptions (tried to choose conservative
estimates)
– 20,000 shale gas wells are fractured in a year
– Each frac job requires 5 million gallons
– Only 50% of the frac fluid volume returns as flowback and
produced water
 Total shale gas flowback and produced water for the
U.S. = 50 billion gallons per year

14. Disproportionate Emphasis on Shale Gas Wastewater (2)
 U.S. produced water volume in 2007 for all oil and
gas = 21 billion bbl (Source: Clark and Veil, 2009)
= 882 billion gal/year
 Compare shale gas water to all produced water
– 50 billion/882 billion or about 5.7%.
 Putting this in perspective, shale gas receives more
than 90% of the attention yet it consists of less than
6% of all the volume of produced water.

15. 15
Water Issues by
Production
Method

16. Variations in Water Needs and Generation by
Production Method
Type of Oil
and Gas
Production
Water Needs for
Production
Produced Water Generated
Conventional
Oil and Gas
- Modest needs for hydraulic
fracturing
- More needed for enhanced
recovery later on
- Low volume initially
- Increased volume over time
- High lifetime pw production
Coalbed
Methane
- Modest needs for hydraulic
fracturing
- High volume initially
- Decreases over time
Shale Gas - Large needs for hydraulic
fracturing
- Initial flow rate is high, but quickly drops to very low
- Low lifetime flowback and produced water production
Heavy Crude - Steam flood to help move
heavy oil to production wells
- Much of the water results from the injected steam used
in steam flooding
Oil/Tar Sands - Steam (or water) injection
used in large volumes
- In-situ production methods: some water is formation
water, but much is from the injected steam
- Oil sand mining production methods and subsequent
processing steps also generate wastewater

17. Conclusions and Final Thoughts
 There is a lot of produced water generated
each year from hundreds of thousands of oil
and gas wells
 Not all forms of hydrocarbon production
share the same water needs and produced
water generation profiles
 Management of that water must be practical
and comply with regulations
 Discharge is not allowed at most onshore
wells but is used commonly for offshore wells
 Most of the produced water in the U.S. is
injected
– 60% for enhanced recovery
– 40% for disposal