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1 1 (July 2, 2014)

handle is hein.crs/govccur0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E~$~ & July 2, 2014 Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Use in California Hydraulic fracturing (sometimes referred to as fracking) is a technique that uses water, sand, and chemicals under pressure to enable or enhance the production of natural gas and crude oil from formations with low permeability. In California, recent drought and estimates of recoverable energy resources have drawn attention to the current and future impacts of fracturing on the state's water quantity and quality. While available data and data gaps on water use in hydraulic fracturing are presented herein, analysis of water quality topics is beyond the scope of this discussion. Fracturing has gained attention nationally in association with energy development from shale and related tight oil formations, such as the Bakken (ND), Eagle Ford (TX), and Marcellus (PA, WV, MD). These unconventional formations are both sources and reservoirs for hydrocarbons. In these formations, fracturing is combined with horizontal drilling to enhance permeability to access natural gas and crude oil trapped in the shale. How Much Water Is Used in Fracturing in California? In California, fracturing historically has been associated with aging conventional petroleum fields in central and southern California. Data from the California Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) for early 2014 indicate that fracturing in California is used primarily in shorter vertical wells (often with some directional drilling), rather than in extended horizontal wells or wells accessing deeper formations. These vertical wells intercept low-permeability formations. More than 95% of recent fractured wells are accessing California's diatomite formations, which are sedimentary rock formed mainly of the hard skeletons of fossilized unicellular algae (diatoms). The wells in these formations are at depths of 1,000 feet on average (see Figure 1). And the fractured intervals are short-50 to 100 feet-compared to the long fractured intervals used to tap shales being developed in other states. To stimulate production from these diatomite formations, relatively fewer fracture stages are often used, in contrast to the multistage fracturing along the comparatively long laterals used to stimulate natural gas or oil production from shale formations such as the Marcellus, Bakken, and Eagle Ford. Also, fracturing in California rarely involves the use of friction reducers. (When reducers are used, more water is typically required.) Due to these differences, the water quantity used in fracturing a well in California (Figure 1 and Figure 2) is on average an order of magnitude lower than the high-volume, multistage fractures of horizontal wells drilled in shales (e.g., a typical Marcellus Shale gas well uses 3 million to 8 million gallons of water). State data on water use associated with well drilling and other completion activities do not appear to be available in California. None of the available fracturing disclosures for California in 2012, 2013, or early 2014 revealed fracturing for gas well stimulation. Data from the limited set of disclosures (19) from gas wells fractured in 2011 in California (Sutter, Colusa, and Glenn counties) indicate an average water use of 25,000 gallons. Figure I. Depth of Fractured Well and Water Use for Fracturing in California in Early 2014 .. Kern 0U53 wels) * Ventura (2 wel s) 5. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <'N A 2'. N, ~. Source: Data from DOGGR well stimulation disclosures (accessed June 26, 2014, included data from January 2014 to May 6, 2014). Figure 2. Estimates of Water Use for Well Fracturing in California During 2012 and 2013 and in Early 2014 Source: Data from FracFocus and DOGGR. Voluntary disclosures of fracturing in California in 2013 (791 wells fractured using, on average, 123,000 gallons of water per well) indicate an annual freshwater use of around 300 acre-feet (97 million gallons), with the majority of the use in Kern County. For regional context, this quantity represents less than 0.01% of the average annual freshwater withdrawals in Kern County. For context within oil and gas operations, DOGGR injection well data for 2013 indicate that 12,110 acre-feet (4 billion gallons) of freshwater sourced from water wells or domestic water supplies were used by the oil and gas industry for enhanced oil recovery through steam and water flooding. Based on these data, 7<. '8., >~K ~$ ~ >k K>Th>sss V ,x x.,%', :. .O 'T - , gnom ggmm , q rq\\ 'S a X 11LULANJILiN,

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