The Problem with Flowback Waste
In this blog, there will be a quick introduction to flowback waste, one possible way to help address this challenge will be discussed and the results from a recent test on a flowback waste sample from the US will be shared.
Flowback is the waste generated through the fracturing process. The composition of flowback waste can differ greatly, containing anywhere from 3 – 60% solids with highly variable amounts of oil and water. This unpredictability results in a waste stream that is difficult to treat in terms of separating the solids, water and valuable oil.
Some areas are fortunate enough to have the right geology and regulatory environment to dispose of flowback from fracking operations into injection wells. However, most areas don’t have the luxury of injection, making treatment and disposal a serious issue.
One of the major issues related to dealing with flowback waste is the transportation costs. In most cases the water required to frack a well is trucked in, and then the flowback waste is trucked out. Trucking the water in for an average well can easily require 200 truckloads, and shipping the flowback waste out requires even more.
Reducing the volume of drilling waste, re-using recovered water and in the process reducing the number of truckloads, represents a huge cost saving opportunity for the industry.
So, how is this possible? I’ll use a recent lab test to help demonstrate the possibilities.
The picture below is from a flowback waste sample recently sent to us by one of our US customers. This flowback waste had a relatively low solids content but a significant amount of oil. Separating the waste using heat and other chemistries had been unsuccessful.
We tested the SAS-ES chemical on this waste and within 10 minutes of adding the SAS SludgeTreat product, the waste separated into clear oil and water phases, with a small rag layer of oil/solids in the middle.
If a decanter centrifuge were used to treat the waste, one would be able to achieve an almost complete solids removal and a very good oil and water split.
In the field this would allow for the user to recover virtually all of the water and oil. The much smaller volume of dry solids would then be trucked away to a landfill.
The ability to re-use high quality fracking water has the potential to cut water transport to well sites by up to 80% (or approx.160 trucks). As the solids are such a small part of this waste stream, waste disposal and waste transport costs can be greatly reduced, in some cases by as much as over 90%.
There is no doubt that fracking waste, be it flowback or other drilling waste, is a major issue. The good news is that there are methods that could cut waste volumes and associated disposal costs by an order of magnitude.
If you’re dealing with flowback waste or other drilling waste, and you’re interested in reducing waste volumes and disposal costs, feel free to get in touch!