Water management service targets US unconventional plays

By Katie Mazerov, contributing editor

Halliburton recently launched a comprehensive service aimed at conserving water and providing operators with an efficient, cost-effective solution that addresses all aspects of water management.

The new Total Water Management Solutions service comprises all elements of the company’s CleanSuite technologies that can be deployed in different ways to meet water needs for operations such as drilling, cementing and hydraulic fracturing. Typically, operators have borne responsibility for addressing water management needs through a variety of service providers, including water suppliers, haulers, tank suppliers and disposal companies.

“This is a unique and comprehensive approach that provides our clients with all their water management needs, including water supply, water storage, transportation, recycling, reuse and disposal of fluids that can’t be reused economically,” said Clay Terry, Global Water Solutions manager. The strategy targets water conservation through the use of non-freshwater sources that are pre-treated for use, or the treatment and reuse of flowback fluids, in addition using more produced, or brackish, waters,  he explained.

The service will be supported by the company’s existing technologies, along with an investment in recycling, storage and disposal technologies and permanent wastewater treatment facilities. “We believe the technologies we offer address environmental consciousness and prudence at various levels, beginning with our CleanStim Formulation technology,” Mr Terry continued. CleanStim uses enzymes and acids present in some food items to develop environmentally safe fracture solutions.

The CleanWave Water Treatment System also will be used as part of the process to condition fracturing flowback water and produced water, making the combined stream usable for ongoing wellsite operations. CleanWave mobile service units will be used both at the wellsite and in the permanent facilities.

“We have a variety of services under the CleanSuite umbrella that reflect different styles of water treatment, either mobile or in a fixed location,” Mr Terry said. Mobile services are intended to provide water treatment and recycling services to client base locations. In individual locations where economics permit, there will be fixed sites that provide a total service package, including water supply, water treatment, storage and recycling for multiple areas in proximity of the facilities, and water disposal when required.

Water management projects are under way in the Permian Basin, the Rocky Mountain region, South Texas and North Dakota. The first permanent facility will go online in South Texas to serve operators in the Eagle Ford shale play and surrounding area. The 40-acre facility is set to begin operating in Q4 this year, with all services up and running by Q1 2012. These facilities will each have water storage capacity, water recycling facilities, storage for treatment fluids, a recycling component and an injection well facility.

“In launching this program, we are focusing on the unconventional resource plays in the United States, where demands for water are significantly greater than they were for well construction methods for conventional vertical wells,” Mr Terry noted. “These are areas of high activity, with high rig counts and a lot of well construction activity.” The company will monitor and evaluate the new program, with an eye to eventually expanding it globally to support the uptick of unconventional resource development in emerging markets.

“One of the key tenets of this program is that it must be economically advantageous to the client,” Mr Terry said. “With this service, we can help assure operators that they can complete their shale wells on schedule and with an improved environmental profile, recycling and reusing as much water as possible, while reducing their dependency on fresh water,” he added. “It’s a responsible strategy for both the operator and the service provider.”

CleanSuite is Halliburton’s trademark. CleanStim and CleanWave are Halliburton’s registered trademarks.