Protecting the Reservoir with PilotPure’s Remediated Water

For over a decade, the U.S. has been the world leader in oil and natural gas production and a net exporter since 2017, in large part due to the success of natural gas extraction in Texas. Natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing has been instrumental to America’s leading status. To effectively extract this valuable natural resource, hydraulic fracturing requires another equally precious resource: water, and a ton of it. As much as 882 million gallons of water is used and disposed of every day in the West Texas Permian Basin, the equivalent of the water use of 8.7 million Americans.

Because energy production remains a crucial issue worldwide, oil and gas companies have found it difficult to address the issues using so much water causes. However, oil and gas companies are beginning to realize that sustainability is important to their long-term success and the overall energy health of the U.S. At first blush, it would seem sustainability and maximum extraction would be mutually exclusive. After all, using 21 million barrels of water a day and then pumping the wastewater back underground is unsustainable for several reasons, not least of which is the current drought plaguing much of the southwest. But what if there were a way to dramatically reduce water use and get the most natural gas production out of a reservoir? This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky scenario. Maximizing well production sustainably is a reality that PilotPure Inc. is helping producers actualize every single day. “At PilotPure Inc., we recognize the importance of using green methods that are both economical and environmentally responsible,” says Jonathan Warner, SR. Vice President & CTO of PilotPure who, along with Chairman, President & C.E.O. Michael Gustin and Exec. VP Sean Gustin boasts a combined 75 years of experience in the industry. “We are committed to taking measures to ensure the longevity of our oil and gas reservoirs, and we are dedicated to the preservation of our environment.”

Developing sustainable, recycling, and remediation technologies for produced water reuse is PilotPure’s value proposition to an industry in need of such innovations if it is to continue as a world leader. The current state of water use is not only unsustainable because of its volume, it’s also unsustainable due to its quality. Water used for hydraulic fracturing is typically water taken from groundwater and surface water resources. This water is minimally treated and then blasted along with chemicals and sand into the earth, breaking apart hard shale foundations, thereby unleashing natural gas deposits in underground reservoirs. Once used, the wastewater is pumped back beneath the surface.

The problem from the oil and gas industry’s perspective is that the ground and surface water used in fracking is often contaminated with bacteria and microbes harmful to the producing reservoir, as well as damaging to the equipment and the health of the workers. Microbe Inducing Corrosion can be introduced to a reservoir and the equipment through water contained with sulfatereducing bacteria (SRB). SRBs have been linked to the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is corrosive to steel. Once thought to cause corrosion as a single species, SRBs are now recognized as part of a microbial community within these formations and can function deep within biofilms under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. In short, this means contaminated water can cause oil and gas companies an intractable problem.

“SRBs cause a problem that cannot be solved, only maintained,” says Warner. “Historically, when a well is infected, SRBs will travel through the formation infecting neighboring wells.” Warner notes this happened in the Barnett shale, a well-documented example of how destructive these bacteria can be. “The treatment program in the Barnett shale is extremely expensive, avoidable, and will never stop because care was not initially taken to treat the frac fluids and solids. To reduce H2S corrosion, great care must be exercised when fracking with water, chemicals, and sand to allow for the maximum recovery of hydrocarbons from the reservoir.”

Along with SRBs, corrosion caused by microbes can damage the iron and steel equipment used to extract the gas. This corrosion can lead to costly downtime and repairs. Also concerning is the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the wells. H2S is a toxic gas that is produced by bacteria when in the presence of certain chemicals often present in fracking and can cause respiratory problems and other health issues for workers while damaging equipment and infrastructure. Combined, these problems all have the same source: contaminated water. Solving the contaminated water problem would make each reservoir more efficient.

PilotPure offers such a solution: clean, remediated water. Their green, chemical-free formula removes iron and kills bacteria, producing a homogeneous frack fluid designed to keep a reservoir producing at the highest rate. Plus, instead of pumping wastewater back underground, PilotPure recycles the wastewater to be reused again and again at other sites.

“The more we eliminate disposal, the better,” says Warner. “PilotPure’s commitment to safe, reliable, and cost-effective operations, solves logistical problems and saves our customers money.”

Currently, PilotPure is connected to a pipeline connected to over 200 wells and is producing 130k barrels a day of clean remediated water for frack. Intervention at the site allows PilotPure to transport the wastewater back to their main facility, where it’s treated with their proprietary chemical-free treatment. That’s nearly 5.5 million gallons of water treated, saved, and ready for reuse a day instead of pumped back underground where it can cause seismic disruptions and other contaminations.

Using PilotPure is a win-win for both oil and gas companies and the environment. Its estimated contamination in reservoirs, damaged equipment, and downtime in production caused by using poorly treated water leads to a significant loss in production over the life of the well. Imagine: just by using PilotPure’s green, sustainable frack fluid, oil and gas companies can recover that benefit every day for 20 years or more at each reservoir – that’s an astronomical boost in production. For the environment, using PilotPure’s recycled frack fluid saves an incredible amount of water while lessening the effects caused by its disposal. As we meet the challenges of the future, we’ll need both valuable resources. PilotPure remains committed to keeping maximized production and environmental protections viable in the marketplace.

Learn more at PilotPure.com.