At the recent Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Dow Chemical President Larry Ryan offered insight into how technology has impacted current industry trends in the management of hydraulic fracturing wastewater. While his firm is widely known for being a global chemical corporation, it also produces water management technologies for the oil and gas sector.
Mr. Ryan noted that new technologies have allowed oil companies to recycle large quantities of fracking wastewater more easily. Rather than transporting the wastewater to disposal wells, which was previously the cheapest available option, companies can now efficiently reuse the water in future drilling operations. This is because innovations in hydraulic fracturing chemical formulas have improved their compatibility with high levels of salt in water. This has the potential to make wastewater recycling a more economically viable path than transporting it via truck, as less processing is necessary to treat the water.
Mr. Ryan also predicted that oil companies would further improve their efficiency by collaborating on water management. By working together to establish centralized facilities for wastewater treatment, oil operators, especially those with limited budgets, will be able to benefit from more cost-effective wastewater management.
