How do you cope with this tremendous water needs and concerns about contamination of groundwater and soil due to fracking and extraction operations? World experts agree that water re-use and efficiency are the most appropriate way for the future of oil and gas.
Water is critical in extractive techniques, and in particular in the case of shale gas because it requires a lot of it and should not be salted; in addition, it produces a lot of contaminants.
As we have said, they need accurate, thorough and extensive basin, hydrological and hydrogeological studies, in order to get a CONCESSION . In particular, it must be ensured that the volumes of water used do not deplete the water resource, damaging the ecosystem and the communities that inhabit it.
But it is in the face of polluted water management that regulations become even more demanding. The drilling wastewater contains the additives necessary for the 'facilitation' of the extractive activity, substances derived from perforated or fractured rock, oils, gases and salts.
Waste water management strategies are basically:
· Re-injection of water, possibly pretreated, into parallel wells and subsequently sealed.
· STORAGE in ponds / ponds and subsequent treatment and return to the hydraulic surface grid.
· Re-use in extractive activities after pre-treatment.
· Re-use after treatment for anthropic activities or community service (gray waters, ponds and ponds with landscaping or play facility).
In all cases, and depending on the regulatory requirements existing in the extraction area, the waters are treated more or less intensely. It's hardly a matter of technically too complex operations: the facilities and technologies needed are undoubtedly less sophisticated than those used to treat wastewater from industrial activities.
However, the volumes involved are very important, and the production of water is a very important component of the extraction economy.
On the other hand, cases of synergies between the mining industry and local communities are becoming more frequent. It is worth mentioning a case related to the production of coal seam gas in Australia, a country rich in these deposits, where reflux treatment is carried out with an advanced combination of membrane processes (microfiltration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis) and where, thanks to the cooperation between mining companies, scientists and local authorities, the common goal was to make re-usable for both industrial and irrigation purposes almost 100% of these waters. In addition, it has been minimized extension of the basins STORAGE for production water, containing much the environmental impact on the area.
Blue gold is therefore a precious resource for oil and gas companies, as well as black gold (or blue, as it is today called gas) that they produce. Perhaps we had not been told yet, but the future of energy is written just in the water.
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