Water is a crucial element for energy production, including natural gas. Water management is an ongoing process that requires coordination between the regulators, resource providers, gas companies, and people on the ground at well pads and at water treatment facilities. Here at Cabot, water recycling is one of our top priorities.
Water is used on well sites to make up drilling mud which is used to cool and lubricate drill bits and to carry rock cuttings to the surface. It is also the major component to the hydraulic fracturing process. Because water is a necessary part of human life, conserving water and carefully monitoring our water sources through water management is very important.
The water used in our operations is carefully regulated by both federal and state government. Cabot reports the withdrawal of water from water sources to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) monthly. The SRBC, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), regulates the withdrawal of water from water sources. The DEP and SRBC also regulate water sharing agreements between operators through water management plans. By sharing withdrawal sites, more natural resources are conserved. Water sources used by natural gas producers tend to be rivers and creeks, private water sources, or municipal water companies.
To withdraw water, companies need permits that determine how much they can withdraw and at what rate. This amount is dependent upon the drainage area which contributes to the creek or river. If the permits gain approval, energy companies are given daily withdrawal limits. Cabot uses an automated system that monitors water flows and automatically shuts down the withdrawals if certain conditions are met. This automated system allows us to be efficient with our water usage.
Water is transported via water trucks that can hold several thousands of gallons at a time. They pick up water through the use of loading stations which are present at water sources. From there, the water is transported to active sites. Flowback, the byproduct produced from the fracking and production process, is carefully managed and recycled. Thanks to the closed loop system in drilling operations, close to 100% of drilling fluids are recycled. Cabot recycles 100% of its fracturing flowback and production fluids to be used in future completion operations. The embedded video below shows the process of recycling water from well sites. It shows what the water filling and treatment facilities look like. It also shows a before and after example of water clarification.
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For more information on how Cabot manages water, check out these previous posts:
Water Recycling – This Drilling Down post elaborates on the key steps of the water recycling process
Groundwater Protection – Special techniques have been developed to ensure that fluids from the production process don’t damage groundwater. This post explains the necessity of proper casing of a wellborne.
Frac Fluid – The materials sent into wells – water, sand, and additives – are considered to be much more mysterious than they actually are. This post goes into detail on the makeup of the additives, details why special sand must be used, and how these ingredients are mixed together to form frac fluid.
