Solution shifts drillers' demand for water

Continuing efforts to shift oil and natural gas operators from groundwater to surface water sources during the shale fracturing process got a boost Thursday.

The Louisiana conservation office announced it is developing rules to allow limited reuse of exploration and production wastewater.

The proposal may undergo more revision before final publication, which could come by year’s end, Conservation Commissioner Jim Welsh says in a news release.

But already the idea is drawing praise from those committed to finding alternate water sources and staying away as much as possible from the troublesome underground aquifers that supply tens of thousands of residential customers in this part of the state.

…The state’s proposal would allow one-time use of wastewater, also often referred to as produced water or saltwater, during the procedure in which the Haynesville Shale formation is fractured to force the release of natural gas. Millions of gallons of water laced with certain additives are pushed into the tight shale, and much of that substance returns to the surface.

It’s usually put into “frac” pits or ponds and trucked from the site for disposal in saltwater injection wells. Recycling that water would help conserve freshwater aquifer sources.

Shreveport Times