end update
This blog addresses all three….
* “However the presence of various fatty acid phthalate esters in the Barnett and Marcellus produced waters can be related to their use in drilling fluids and breaker additives rather than their presence in connate fluids. Halogen containing compounds are found in each of the water samples, and although the fluorocarbon compounds identified are used as tracers, the presence of chlorocarbons and organobromides formed as a consequence of using chlorine containing oxidants (to remove bacteria from source water), suggests that industry should concentrate on non-chemical treatments of frac and produced waters.“
Here is the informal report. Currently, Chesapeake has (had?) a pilot program at the Brentwood Compressor Station that receives water that is piped in from nearby drill sites and uses the heat from the existing compressors for the evaporation process. I spoke with the inventor of the evaporization units who told me that scrubbers are being used in California, where it is mandated. Still unknown is if those evaporization units were on line during the million dollar Ft. Worth, ERG air study.
**HERE IS the related ARTICLE
I WROTE FOR THE ARLINGTON VOICE
back in 2012 about injection wells
and the Ft Worth evaporation/compressor station pilot project.
One of the more troubling issues with drilling for Natural Gas is that for every 1 foot dug on a well, it creates 1.2 barrels of waste of which half is water. Injection Wells handle this liquid waste by injecting it deep into the brine water (high salt) of the deep Ellenberger Formation to (hopefully) never be seen again. JimParajon of the City of Arlington Planning Department confirmed that Arlington does not allow injection wells. So where does this waste water go?
Kimbrough Farms at 2828 Chambers Street in Venus TX, is an Injection Well waste disposal site that has recently been in the news. It is one of the sites that may receive liquid disposal waste from Arlington wells. A Google Satellite visit shows the lay of the land that matches the WFAA video report.
In 1990, the American Petroleum Institute did a confidential industry study and using a conservative assumption found that radium in drilling waste water dumped off the Louisiana coast posed “potentially significant risks” of cancer for people who eat fish from those waters regularly.” (page 6)
If high pressure injection disposals seems too risky, the drilling liquid waste can also be recycled. A Utah based Company called 212 Resources claims “We get methanol, total dissolved solids, minerals, metals – all these things that are in the water.” Recycling averages about 40% more costly than injection disposal, and the amount of water actually recycled has been minimal in relation to the volumes involved in disposal.
During the Ft. Worth Injection Well meeting last week, I inquired about the feasibility of evaporating the waste water mentioned above “if” they would utilize the scrubbers to safely filter the fluids before evaporating it. But that idea was discouraged because the Everas Evaporation Units are too expensive.
The Ft Worth staff’s presentation at the Injection Well meeting was very informative. City officials seemed to be on board with allowing more Injection Well sites. The reason, because hauling waste by trucks to injection disposal sites shortens the lifespan of the roads by one third.
Information from a flyer reads “The current moratorium on new permits for gas injection disposal wells inside the Fort Worth city limits expires in April. There are currently only two injection wells, but City Council is considering lifting the moratorium, but not before hearing from citizens about the issue. Each meeting will include a presentation on injection wells with comments from gas industry representatives and Fort Worth citizens. A moderated question/answer session will follow.”
Arlington TX Barnett Shale Blogger 