Halliburton, Baker Hughes and FTS International are among the oil and gas companies increasingly using recycled water in hydraulic fracturing.
Most fracking to extract shale gas is happening in water-stressed regions of the US, such as Texas and Colorado, both of which are in the midst of prolonged drought conditions.
Companies are feeling the pressure to cut their freshwater use in these dry areas of the country — and they’re looking to reduce the high costs of hauling millions of barrels of water to oil and gas wells and later to underground disposal wells, Reuters reports.
The news agency says the use of Halliburton’s H2OForward recycling service on ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy wells in Eddy County, N.M., saved $70,000 to $100,000 per well with no loss of production. Meanwhile FTS International says it uses up to 100 percent reclaimed water in some Oklahoma and Texas locations.
Source: Environmental Leader