Water Standard and its produced water subsidiary, Monarch Separators, are firm believers in keeping abreast of the latest developments in water treatment for the oil and gas industry. Attending conferences and participating in technical sessions is one component of our technology research and advancement. More importantly, hearing directly from the Operators to learn about the challenges faced in the field… well, that’s invaluable. Last week, Water Standard’s Chief Technology Officer, Lisa Henthorne, participated in the Produced Water Society’s (PWS) Permian Basin conference and was “wowed” once again. This was PWS’ 2nd annual conference in the Permian and it was a packed house, nearly tripling the attendance from last year. As a moderator and attendee, Lisa learned first hand what is happening at ground zero in the prolific Permian. With some interesting and staggering figures coming from the Permian, it’s clear to see that Produced Water is the hottest topic in town. The outlook in the region was commonly referred to as a “tsunami” of produced water heading from the Permian. So what does this all mean? There is finally a gradual adoption of produced water reuse throughout the Permian. Operators such as EOG and Pioneer are paving the way with innovative reuse programs. We believe, it’s about time and more operators need to follow suit. There is still a long way to go but at least the message is pointing in the right direction. Currently the trend for water treatment is continuing with limited, low cost treatment using biocide/oxidants. However 60% of the wells are souring due to the lack of consistent and effective biocide use. Therefore, more effective, yet affordable technologies are required to handle the massive volumes of water and to promote the responsible use of our precious water resources.
