wastewater

With concern growing that the underlying geology in the Permian Basin is reaching capacity for disposal wells, the Trump administration is examining whether to adjust decades-old federal clean-water regulations to allow drillers to discharge waste water directly into rivers and streams.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embarking on a new study that will take a holistic look at how the EPA, states, and stakeholders regulate and manage waste water from the oil and gas industry. 

Getting rid of wastewater from onshore wells has become an increasingly costly problem for oil producers as US crude output surged in recent years, especially in the new shale fields from Texas to North Dakota.

This paper analyzes water production from horizontal shale wells in five sections of the Wattenberg field in northeastern Colorado. Models were developed for these wells for future water-production prediction and a spatial analysis was also conducted.

Three metrics that are used for monitoring organics in water are total organic carbon (TOC), chemical oxygen demand, and biological oxygen demand. While less commonly used than the other two methods, TOC can offer practical advantages to operators.