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This document discusses various methods for transporting water to drilling sites for oil and gas operations. Significant quantities of water are needed, often from sources not located at the drilling site. Transportation methods discussed include trucking via tankers, piping options like sectional steel/aluminum pipes or flexible layflat pipes, either surface laid or buried. Piping can be temporary or permanent. On-site groundwater extraction is also an option if an aquifer is present. Each method has advantages and disadvantages regarding infrastructure needs, environmental impacts, and costs.
This document discusses various methods for transporting water to drilling sites for oil and gas operations. Significant quantities of water are needed, often from sources not located at the drilling site. Transportation methods discussed include trucking via tankers, piping options like sectional steel/aluminum pipes or flexible layflat pipes, either surface laid or buried. Piping can be temporary or permanent. On-site groundwater extraction is also an option if an aquifer is present. Each method has advantages and disadvantages regarding infrastructure needs, environmental impacts, and costs.
This document discusses various methods for transporting water to drilling sites for oil and gas operations. Significant quantities of water are needed, often from sources not located at the drilling site. Transportation methods discussed include trucking via tankers, piping options like sectional steel/aluminum pipes or flexible layflat pipes, either surface laid or buried. Piping can be temporary or permanent. On-site groundwater extraction is also an option if an aquifer is present. Each method has advantages and disadvantages regarding infrastructure needs, environmental impacts, and costs.
Martin Preene Principal, Golder Associates, Leeds, UK
November 2013 Synopsis Synopsis Background to water supply to drilling sites Transportation methods Options to deploy transportation methods Costs Conclusion
Background to Water Supply Significant quantities of water are needed for oil & gas drilling sites This presentation assumes that a source of water has been identified and is available A key problem is that the water source is typically not on the drilling site, and the water must be transported to the site, by means that are practicable, environmentally acceptable and economic This presentation will look at the challenges of transporting water to drilling sites July 17, 2014 3 Background to Water Supply Water is required on drilling sites for a range of purposes: Site welfare Drilling fluid make up Hydraulic fracturing
The volume of water required for hydraulic fracturing will be unique to each site and each well, controlled by: Geology Working methods Regulatory constraints
But it is clear that large volumes of water are required July 17, 2014 4 Background to Water Supply How much water is needed for hydraulic fracturing? American practice (e.g. EPA, API) reports that 2 to 5 million US Gallons per well is typical (this is 7,500 to 19,000 m 3 per well) The Poyry (2011) Report for Ofgem Impact of Unconventional Gas on Europe states that hydraulic fracturing typically requires 20,000 m 3 per well. It also states that a deep well with multistage hydraulic fracturing may require 30,000 m 3 per well These are large volumes for an individual well, and there may be multiple wells from a single drill pad July 17, 2014 5 Background to Water Supply Water transportation options will be controlled not just by the total volume but also by flow rate (Volume Time) The longer the time available to transport a given volume of water, the lower the average flow rate this reduces the capacity of the required water transportation infrastructure Say a well needs 20,000 m 3 of hydraulic fracturing water in 10 stages of 2,000 m 3 each If the water for each stage has to be delivered to site in 1 day that is a mean flow rate of 2,000 m 3 /day (23 litre/sec) or 67 x 30 m 3 road tanker loads in 24 hours But, if the water for each stage can be delivered to site over 4 days that is a mean flow rate of 500 m 3 /day (6 litre/sec) or an average of 17 x 30 m 3 road tanker loads in each 24 hour period
July 17, 2014 6 Water Supply Source Options Possible water source Possible access point Mains water supply Water company source works; Water company trunk main Surface water abstraction River, lake or water body Groundwater abstraction Water wells Industrial process water Existing industrial facility
Additionally, there may be an option to re-use some of the on-site water by treating and re-cycling some of the flow back water recovered from the well this will reduce the water volumes requiring transportation
But in general, the water source will be away from the drilling site, and some means to transport large volumes of water will be required
July 17, 2014 7 Transportation Methods The main options for transport of water to be used in hydraulic fracturing are: Sourcing on site (e.g. groundwater wells at the drill pad) Trucking (i.e. road tankers) Surface laid steel/aluminium sectional pipe Surface laid high specification layflat flexible pipework Buried HDPE pipes (e.g. conventional utility water main technology)
July 17, 2014 8 Sourcing on Site (Groundwater) This is the easiest transportation option because the water is generated on site, typically by abstracting groundwater Instead of requiring infrastructure for transportation, the infrastructure is required on the drill pad to allow the water to be abstracted Low visual impact and limited impact on neighbouring communities Groundwater will not be an option on all sites Various steps are needed to determine if groundwater is available and can be used
July 17, 2014 9 Sourcing on Site (Groundwater) A site investigation is required to determine whether the drill pad is located over an aquifer and if groundwater is of acceptable quality
Any significant abstraction (more than 10 to 20 m 3 /d) will require licensing by the environmental regulator England: Environment Agency Wales: Natural Resources Wales Scotland: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Environment Agency
July 17, 2014 10 Sourcing on Site - Wellpoints July 17, 2014 11 If shallow (less than 10 m deep) sand or gravel aquifers are present it may be possible to use shallow pumped wellpoints These are arrays of shallow wells pumped by suction pumps, can be diesel or electrically powered Widely available, simple technology
Sourcing on Site Water Wells July 17, 2014 12 If the aquifer is deeper, one or more conventional water wells will have to drilled Wells are pumped by slimline electric borehole submersible pumps Widely available technology Photo: BDF Trucking Trucking of water (via mobile water tankers) is a means of transporting water without the need for permanent or semi- permanent water transportation infrastructure There may be a need for infrastructure to fill and discharge the tankers Large number of vehicle movements will be involved. This may require road improvements or changes in traffic management The impact of vehicle movements should be recognised in environmental studies July 17, 2014 13 Trucking Articulated road tankers can carry up to 30 m 3 of water Travel on public roads, are very visible sign of a project, will impact local communities Large number of vehicle movements required 20,000 m 3 requires 667 x 30 m 3 tanker loads On public roads individual drivers are subject to driving hours controls (like any other HGV) July 17, 2014 14 Photo: Water Direct Trucking An alternative to water tankers is to transport water in ISO containers carried by conventional trucks A 20 foot ISO container can be fitted with an internal liner water bag which allows it to hold and discharge 24 m 3 of water More discrete transportation (does not look like a tanker) but more vehicle movements compared to 30 m 3 tankers July 17, 2014 15 Photos: Water Direct Trucking It is likely that a fleet of several tankers will be needed for each well High flow rate pumps will be needed at fill and discharge points to speed up the transport cycle Road system may need uprating There are significant health and safety and space issues associated with marshalling such large numbers of truck movements at fill and discharge points
July 17, 2014 16 Photo: Water Direct Temporary Pipework (All Types) Temporary pipework can be rigid and sectional or flexible and effectively continuous Generally surface laid (not buried) Route choices are: Line of sight (cross-country) land access for working strip required, need to cross hedges, ditches, damage to farmland Road side (indirect) follow highways, need to cross side roads and junctions (trench under road or ramp road over pipe) Laying activities and long term presence of pipework needs to be included in environmental studies July 17, 2014 17 Photo: Millars Products Photo: Angus Flexible Pipelines Temporary Pipework (All Types) The potential advantages of temporary pipework are: Removed at the end of the project Can be re-used on multiple projects Can be procured on a sale or rental basis Avoids the impact on communities of multiple tanker movements The potential disadvantages of temporary pipework are: Highly visible Potentially at risk of vandalism or accidental damage Risk of water leakage from joints giving potential environmental and health and safety problems
July 17, 2014 18 Photo: Millars Products Photo: Angus Flexible Pipelines Sectional Pipework Sectional pipework is available in steel and aluminium, in various diameters (commonly 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm) Diameter is chosen in relation to desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs Standard lengths are 6 m or 12 m Pipe is rigid so separate bends, fittings, etc. are needed for major changes in direction
July 17, 2014 19 Photos: Millars Products Sectional Pipework Pipework is laid by mixture of mechanical plant and manual handling Pipework laid out by plant (telehandler or rough terrain forklift) but final positioning and connection by hand Connections are either quick action couplings (e.g. Bauer connections) or bolted connections (e.g. Victaulic connections) One crew can typically lay 300 to 500 m per day Can be procured by purchase or rental Removed and re-used at end of project July 17, 2014 20 Photo: Millars Products High Specification Layflat Pipework July 17, 2014 21 Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines Specialist flexible pipework is available in various diameters (150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm) Diameter is chosen in relation to desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs. Smooth bore flexible hose is typically more hydraulically efficient than sectional metal pipework Standard lengths are 200 m reels, coupled together (fewer joints than sectional pipework) Pipe is flexible and can cope with gradual changes in direction
High Specification Layflat Pipework July 17, 2014 22 Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines Pipework is delivered on demountable reels Pipework laid out by unreeling from the back of a slowly moving truck Connections made every 200 m, typically bolted connections (e.g. Victaulic connections) One crew can typically lay 2,000 m per hour in favourable conditions Can be procured by purchase or rental Removed and re-used at end of project High Specification Layflat Pipework July 17, 2014 23 Photos: Angus Flexible Pipelines Buried HDPE Pipework July 17, 2014 24 There is a wide range of contractors working in the utility industry who are highly experienced in laying buried HDPE pipework Wide range of HDPE pipe different diameters, material type and pressure rating. Selection is based on desired flow rate and friction losses/pumping costs. Common sizes are in range 100 to 200 mm diameter Jointing normally by fusion welding Pipework is relatively inflexible and requires bends and fittings at major changes in direction
Buried HDPE Pipework July 17, 2014 25 Relatively slow to lay because of need to trench, backfill and re-instate. One crew can typically lay 20 m per day in road carriageway, 40 m per day in verge, higher rates can be achieved cross country in favourable conditions Disruptive during construction but finished pipeline has low visual impact, low vulnerability to vandalism and reduced leakage risks compared to surface pipelines Lack of flexibility effectively must be purchased (no rental options) cannot easily be removed and re-used at end of project Deployment Options Simplest option is single source and single transportation route Pumps are needed at source to either push water along pipeline or to fill tankers July 17, 2014 26 Single source single transportation Deployment Options July 17, 2014 27 Multiple source single transportation Deployment Options If multiple drilling sites are to be developed, it may be possible to set up a central hub at a location where it is straightforward to provide water, e.g. by pipeline from source Tankers would then truck water the final short distance to multiple sites July 17, 2014 28 Hybrid transportation with hub site Deployment Options If road access to drilling site is narrow, constrained or environmentally sensitive, tanker movements can be avoided by laying a temporary pipeline to a suitable transfer point where the tankers discharge Reduces impact on local communities May allow 24 hour cycle of water delivery to site, when local vehicle movements would be restricted at night July 17, 2014 29 Hybrid transportation to reduce vehicle movements to drill site Costs Water transportation costs will be unique to each site, influenced by factors such as: The source of the water Quantity of water and required flow rate The distance between source and drilling site The arrangement of the sites (individual water supply or multiple sites) Type of water transportation Environmental and permitting constraints
It is not possible to develop generic water transportation costs per m 3 (or perhaps more meaningfully costs per 1000 m 3 per km per day) July 17, 2014 30 Costs Some approximate unit costs for water transportation infrastructure are set out on the following slides: These costs are direct costs and do not include design, site overheads and site staffing at fill and discharge points, mobilisation or site set up costs The cost of the water itself is not included, for example: Unit costs (per m 3 ) paid to water utilities for water from mains supplies Abstraction licensing costs The pumping costs associated with filling tankers or pushing water along pipelines are not included Other cost exclusions are given for individual items July 17, 2014 31 Conclusion Drilling sites potentially require large volumes of water for hydraulic fracturing and other purposes The precise volumes needed will be unique to each well and each site, but volumes of up to 20,000 to 30,000 m 3 per well may be required Once a suitable water source has been identified and secured, the two primary options are trucking and temporary pipelines, although there are options for more permanent buried pipelines Reliable water delivery is key to successful hydraulic fracturing, and getting the required volumes to the drilling site is a major logistical operation which should not be underestimated Careful planning will be needed to ensure the infrastructure and logistics are adequate to provide the water, that costs are optimised and that environmental impacts are minimised July 17, 2014 32 Acknowledgements Images and costs kindly provided by: Groundwater supplies: BDF: www.bdf.co.uk Groundwater Engineering Limited: www.groundwaterinternational.com Water tankers Water Direct: www.water-direct.co.uk Sectional pipework Millars Products: www.millarsproducts.com Groundwater Engineering Limited: www.groundwaterinternational.com Flexible pipework Angus Flexible Pipelines: www.flexiblepipelines.co.uk Water mains Murphy Group: www.murphygroup.co.uk July 17, 2014 33 Martin Preene mpreene@golder.com