John M. Walsh

Principal Technologist - Upstream Water Worley Advisian

John Walsh, PhD, SPE, has worked in the water industry for close to 30 years. He worked for Shell for more than 20 years, Westvaco Paper Company prior to Shell, CETCo Energy Services, and most recently Worley Consultants. At Shell, he was the global subject-matter expert for upstream water treatment. In that role, he worked in dozens of countries, providing oversight for their R&D, troubleshooting and technical programs. He was involved in a wide range of water-treatment challenges including shale, water floor, enhanced oil recovery, and conventional onshore and deepwater offshore projects.

He had the great fortune to work with outstanding produced-water specialists who provided a steady stream of encouragement to write a two-volume book titled “Produced Water.” A list of contributors is given in the cover material of the book.

He was the president and managing director of the Produced Water Society. He has served on the SPE Board of Directors and is the designated instructor for two SPE courses on water treatment. He earned a PhD in chemical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University.

Water management

Water Management for Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Resources—Part 2 Properties and Characteristics of Flowback Fluids

In this second article of a series covering water management in hydraulic fracturing (HF) in unconventional resources, the properties and characteristics of the flowback fluids are discussed, together with the general categories of technologies that are best suited to treat them.

July 9, 2013 • John M. Walsh • Oil and Gas Facilities
Water management

Water Management for Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Resources—Part 1

This is the first of several articles on the subject of water management for unconventional hydraulic fracturing. This article outlines the critical issues and outlines development of a strategy for treatment of flowback fluids.

May 1, 2013 • John M. Walsh • Oil and Gas Facilities
Water management

Micro- and Ultrafiltration Technologies Offer New Options for Offshore Waterflooding

The number of offshore facilities employing waterflooding with desalination continues to grow. Currently, more than 50 sulfate removal units are in operation offshore with a total capacity of approximately 8 million BWPD.

March 16, 2013 • John M. Walsh • Oil and Gas Facilities
Water management

Challenges of Water Treating for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

Higher oil prices has created increased interest in chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) using polymers, surfactants, and alkalis. This technology poses some special challenges, especially around water treatment.

July 24, 2012 • Lisa Henthorne • Oil and Gas Facilities
Water management

Global Workshop Series Addresses Water Handling Issues

Water handling is becoming increasingly important as a technical and economic tool for improved oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. A global series of workshops to address these issues has been planned.

May 17, 2012 • John M. Walsh • Oil and Gas Facilities
Water management

Technologies, Trends, and Developments

For several months, a number of us involved with water treating have been thinking about how we would like to contribute to Oil and Gas Facilities. We had in mind a regular feature with an emphasis on water treating technology.

January 23, 2012 • John M. Walsh • Oil and Gas Facilities

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