Comparison of water use for hydraulic fracturing for unconventional oil and gas versus conventional oil.

We compared water use for hydraulic fracturing (HF) for oil versus gas production within the Eagle Ford shale. We then compared HF water use for Eagle Ford oil with Bakken oil, both plays accounting for two-thirds of U.S. unconventional oil production in 2013. In the Eagle Ford, we found similar average water use in oil and gas zones per well (4.7-4.9 × 10(6) gallons [gal]/well). However, about twice as much water is used per unit of energy (water-to-oil ratio, WOR, vol water/vol oil) in the oil zone (WOR: 1.4) as in the gas zone (water-to-oil-equivalent-ratio, WOER: 0.6). We also found large differences in water use for oil between the two plays, with mean Bakken water use/well (2.0 × 10(6) gal/well) about half that in the Eagle Ford, and a third per energy unit. We attribute these variations mostly to geological differences. Water-to-oil ratios for these plays (0.6-1.4) will further decrease (0.2-0.4) based on estimated ultimate oil recovery of wells. These unconventional water-to-oil ratios (0.2-1.4) are within the lower range of those for U.S. conventional oil production (WOR: 0.1-5). Therefore, the U.S. is using more water because HF has expanded oil production, not because HF is using more water per unit of oil production.

[1]  Corrie E Clark,et al.  Life cycle water consumption for shale gas and conventional natural gas. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[2]  Xinglai Gong,et al.  Assessment of Eagle Ford Shale Oil and Gas Resources , 2013 .

[3]  Ian J Laurenzi,et al.  Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater consumption of Marcellus shale gas. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[4]  Kate Tiedeman.  Water Use and Produced Water Intensity of California Petroleum Extraction , 2014 .

[5]  B. Scanlon,et al.  Water use for Shale-gas production in Texas, U.S. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  P. S. Patel,et al.  Analysis of US Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid System and Proppant Trends , 2014 .

[7]  Jeanne M. VanBriesen,et al.  Life Cycle Water Consumption and Wastewater Generation Impacts of a Marcellus Shale Gas Well , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  M. Lewan,et al.  Assessment of undiscovered oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 2013 , 2013 .

[9]  W. B. Ayers,et al.  The Eagle Ford Shale Play, South Texas: Regional Variations in Fluid Types, Hydrocarbon Production and Reservoir Properties , 2013 .

[10]  S. Ruppel,et al.  Regional Lithostratigraphy of the Eagle Ford Shale: Maverick Basin to East Texas Basin , 2010 .

[11]  Michael Q. Wang,et al.  Water Consumption in the Production of Ethanol and Petroleum Gasoline , 2009, Environmental management.

[12]  Sheila M. Olmstead,et al.  Source and Fate of Hydraulic Fracturing Water in the Barnett Shale: A Historical Perspective , 2015 .

[13]  Donald P. Helander,et al.  Empirical Prediction of Recovery Rate in Waterflooding Depleted Sands , 1968 .