Jordan Blum, editorial director, Hart Energy: We're here at Hart Energy's Executive Oil Conference in Midland. I'm joined by Chris Harich, the chief operating Officer of XRI, here to talk all things water. So just a few days ago there was a 5.3 seismic scale event in the Southern Delaware. Seismic activities have been an increasing problem in the Permian. Can I get you to just elaborate on how much of a challenge that is and what's being done about it?
Chris Harich: Yeah, sure. Well, thank you for having me here today, Jordan. I sure appreciate it. Yes. The seismic events that are happening out here in the Permian are problematic, right? We're just still injecting too much water into formation and in too concentrated of areas. And so one of the things the industry is really trying to capture and do is reuse more of this water. So we're trying to use the water, recycle, reuse it, and send it back to the frac instead of send it to a battery and send it to an SWD [saltwater disposal well] and then dispose of it deep into the earth, which is causing some of this lubrication of faults in some of these seismic events.
JB: How has that kind of recycling technology evolved in recent years? It seems to be picking up a lot of steam, so to speak.
CH: Yeah, so great question. I think scale, size. We at XRI, we recycle about a million barrels a day, so that's definitely changed over the last couple of years. Really increasing the equipment footprint, being able to be more mobile with equipment, recycle higher volumes closer to the frac is some of the keys that we try to do. One of the problems is we have this liquid logistics problem, right? We just frac a bunch of wells that might be six miles away. The next pad is say, 10 miles away. We've got to get all that recycled water to the next location for use. And so some of that supply-demand is still what we're facing today. Sometimes it's easier just to dispose of it, but a lot of the times companies like us are really focusing on trying to recycle as much of that volume as possible and give it back to the operators.
JB: So obviously there are still some logistics challenges and whatnot, like you said. Are things increasingly becoming more economical each and every day, basically?
CH: The economics have really changed over the last three, four years for sure. What used to be 40 cents a barrel is definitely crawling down into the 20 cents a barrel. I think size and scope has helped us with that. I also think teamwork, working with collaboration with different shareholders that are out there, sharing assets, sharing pipelines, sharing ponds maybe to do recycled jobs and bring water back to the next customer. So getting one supermajor to help another supermajor and have a recycler in the middle is something that's really driven the cost down over time.
JB: Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us here for this Heart Energy Live exclusive interview at the Executive Oil Conference in Midland. To read and watch more, please visit online at hartenergy.com.
Recommended Reading
US Drillers Add Oil, Gas Rigs for First Time in Four Weeks
2024-10-11 - The oil and gas rig count rose by one to 586 in the week to Oct. 11. Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 36 rigs or 6% from this time last year.
VTX Energy Quickly Ramps to 42,000 bbl/d in Southern Delaware Basin
2024-09-24 - VTX Energy’s founder was previously among the leadership that built and sold an adjacent southern Delaware operator, Brigham Resources, for $2.6 billion.
Hurricane Helene Shuts in Nearly 30% of GoM Crude Production
2024-09-25 - Bumped up to hurricane classification on Sept. 25, Hurricane Helene has shut in 29% of crude and 17% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico as it nears landfall in Florida tomorrow.
In Ohio’s Utica Shale, Oil Wildcatters Are at Home
2024-08-23 - The state was a fast-follower in launching the U.S. and world oil industry, and millions of barrels of economic oil are still being found there today.
US Oil, Gas Rig Count Holds Steady for Record Third Week
2024-11-08 - The oil and gas rig count was steady at 585 in the week to Nov. 8, Baker Hughes said on Nov. 8. Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count down 31 rigs, or 5% below this time last year.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.