XRI was recently featured on an episode of Tomorrow’s World Today – “Water from the Desert.”
If you missed it, we have you covered.
In this episode, we explore how NGL’s large volumes of produced water combined with XRI’s specialized recycling expertise address the need for sustainable use of produced water.
As background, fracking is the process where sand, water and chemicals are injected underground at very high pressures to crack open rock layers and to release oil or gas that’s trapped inside. This process uses three million gallons of water for the average well.
The water usage is one of the reasons so many people have opposed fracking in the past. Many consumers were worried that water was being wasted, but the truth is innovations in the hydraulic fracturing process have completely changed.
What happens to the water that’s drilled? It’s no longer being wasted. Most people don’t know that companies are actually reusing the water during the fracking process, which makes it a much more sustainable practice.
This episode explore the advances that have been made with fracking and sustainable water development.
Most people don’t know that companies are actually reusing the water during the fracking process, which makes it a much more sustainable practice.
Produced water is a byproduct of the fracking process. It could contain drilling fluids, small rocks, sand particulate matter, maybe some oil from the drilling location, all a part of the drilling process. And for many, many years, most in the industry felt that this could not be reused. But the truth is that the life cycle of produced water has many different and complex stages and they’re all interconnected. And the drilling and completion phase is really just the beginning of that life cycle.
Fast forward to the end result: From a water sustainability standpoint, the water that is cleaned up hasn’t seen the surface in 250 million years. What’s even more important is that XRI will recycle 500,000 barrels for one well in just two days. And just in that 500,000 barrels, that’s 20 million gallons. That’s enough water to supply the houses of 450 homes throughout the United States in one year.
