Tuesday 16 April 2013

Measurement demand emphasised by fracking!

Fracking has emphasised the need to clean up water produced from oil and gas wells, and proper measurement is vital for this effort.

Endress+Hauser's white paper “Instrumentation for Produced Water Applications” (pdf 6mb) talks about the type of instrumentation required.

Produced water refers to any water brought up to the surface during oil and gas production, typically as the result of drilling, exploration and hydraulic fracturing. Before disposing or reusing the water, it must be treated to extract hydrocarbons and satisfy environmental code regulations.

Cleaning produced water costs 300 times more than cleaning municipal waste water and 3,000 times more than cleaning irrigation water. Since each water treatment system can vary based on the water quality and the environmental regulations for its reuse, there is no universal treatment process. Nevertheless, basic requirements must be met when dealing with produced water.

It is important for companies to understand these factors so that oil and gas production can be maximized while containing costs and complying with regulations.

This non-commercial white paper explains where produced water comes from, how it is treated, and the instrumentation needed at every stage of the process.

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