Study Finds PA Wastewater Volumes in 2014 Same as 3 Yrs Ago
The Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (SGICC), affiliated with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic with a mission to accelerate technology breakthroughs related to shale gas in PA, has just released an updated report on shale wastewater treatment and disposal in PA. The report, titled "Shale Gas Development - Summary of Shale Gas Wastewater Treatment and Disposal In Pennsylvania 2014" (full copy below) finds that drillers in PA produced about 1.8 billion gallons of gas and oil wastewater in 2014--a figure largely unchanged since 2011. The study also finds the shale industry in PA is recycling 91% of the wastewater it produces. Interestingly, the updated report shows "produced water" (or brine, naturally occurring water from the depths) volumes far exceeded volumes for "frac fluid" (or the fluid originally pumped into the well when drilling and fracking). That's a reversal from the data evaluated in 2011 when frac fluid represented the bulk of the wastewater stream...
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