• RECYCLING OF FRAC WATER AVOIDS DEEP WELL DISPOSAL AND RELATED LOCALIZED EARTHQUAKE EFFECT
Recycling frac waters would not only save operators money and secure ‘fast track’ permits, but reuse would avoid deep well injection – removing a high potential contributing factor to localized earthquakes.
I refer to “Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies” National Research Council 2012. Per ‘Executive Summary’:
“the process of hydraulic fracturing a well as presently implemented for shale gas recovery does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events
Injection for disposal of waste water derived from energy technologies into the subsurface does pose some risk for induced seismicity, but very few evetns have been documented over the past several decades relative to the large number of disposal wells in operation”
My work, economically justifying recycle of treated frac or production waters would eliminate use of disposal wells.
This section has been extracted from my publicly available comments accepted and posted by [4/5/14] USAEPA Scientific Advisory Board [SAB] Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel’s November 20, 2013 teleconference website for the panel’s consideration. This website is http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/D3AE85DC5A40EEC885257CB3004E03F8/$File/Public+comments+submitted+by+Goodwin,+Richard-4-4-14.pdf
• Fracked vs. Deep Disposal Wells – Potential Earthquake Impact
Millions of gallons of water are typically used to fracture, or frack, a well, and much of it eventually returns to the surface. Some is recycled, but most is pumped down disposal wells. And the extra fluid can migrate far from the well.
I refer to “Injection-Induced Earthquakes,” by Bill Ellsworth, a USGS geophysicist [Feb, 2014], who stated that unlike hydraulic fracturing, wastewater injection is done at lower pressures to permanently store the fluid deep underground. Because it operates at considerable depth and often with considerable volumes of fluid, the wastewater discarding process may exert significant stress within multiple subterranean levels that can potentially cause unavoidable disturbances.
• RECYCLING OF FRAC WATER AVOIDS DEEP WELL DISPOSAL AND RELATED LOCALIZED EARTHQUAKE EFFECT
Recycling frac waters would not only save operators money and secure ‘fast track’ permits, but reuse would avoid deep well injection – removing a high potential contributing factor to localized earthquakes.
I refer to “Induced Seismicity Potential in Energy Technologies” National Research Council 2012. Per ‘Executive Summary’:
“the process of hydraulic fracturing a well as presently implemented for shale gas recovery does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events
Injection for disposal of waste water derived from energy technologies into the subsurface does pose some risk for induced seismicity, but very few evetns have been documented over the past several decades relative to the large number of disposal wells in operation”
My work, economically justifying recycle of treated frac or production waters would eliminate use of disposal wells.
This section has been extracted from my publicly available comments accepted and posted by [4/5/14] USAEPA Scientific Advisory Board [SAB] Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel’s November 20, 2013 teleconference website for the panel’s consideration. This website is
http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/D3AE85DC5A40EEC885257CB3004E03F8/$File/Public+comments+submitted+by+Goodwin,+Richard-4-4-14.pdf
• Fracked vs. Deep Disposal Wells – Potential Earthquake Impact
Millions of gallons of water are typically used to fracture, or frack, a well, and much of it eventually returns to the surface. Some is recycled, but most is pumped down disposal wells. And the extra fluid can migrate far from the well.
I refer to “Injection-Induced Earthquakes,” by Bill Ellsworth, a USGS geophysicist [Feb, 2014], who stated that unlike hydraulic fracturing, wastewater injection is done at lower pressures to permanently store the fluid deep underground. Because it operates at considerable depth and often with considerable volumes of fluid, the wastewater discarding process may exert significant stress within multiple subterranean levels that can potentially cause unavoidable disturbances.
Richard W. Goodwin