Driven by surging demand for its state-of-the-art wastewater treatment process as mandated by new state regulations, Aqua-Pure Ventures, Inc. (AQE - TSX Venture), today announced the addition of a third NOMAD evaporator unit at its shared facility in Williamsport, PA. Aqua-Pure (www.aqua-pure.com), based in Calgary, Canada, is working with Eureka Resources to recycle flowback and produced water from companies engaged in extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.
The new unit has joined two NOMADs that have been recycling up to 200,000 gallons of wastewater every day since mid-June 2010, expanding Aqua-Pure's capacity by 50 percent. The facility now serves several operators, including Range Resources, XTO Energy and Chesapeake Energy.
"We are very pleased to expand our operations in the Marcellus so quickly," said Brent Halldorson, chief operating officer of Fountain Quail Water Management (www.fountainquail.com), a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Aqua-Pure. "Our alliance with Eureka has gone exceedingly well, and we've still just scratched the surface in terms of meeting the growing needs of the companies operating in this area."
On June 17, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) enacted stringent new regulations mandating a maximum of 500 ppm TDS and 250 ppm chlorides in "end of pipe" discharges. Aqua-Pure is recovering an average of 75-80 percent of pure distilled water from the Marcellus Shale wastewater it receives, with total dissolved solids (TDS) measuring well below 150 ppm, and only trace chlorides. It is the only company currently operating in Pennsylvania that is exceeding the IRRC's mandate.
"Just as important as meeting the regulations, we're providing the most cost-effective solution for operators in Pennsylvania," said Halldorson. "As a result, we're adding capacity as quickly as we can."
Since 2004, Aqua-Pure has developed and refined its technology for recycling flowback and produced water in North Texas' Barnett Shale. During that time, the company has recycled more than 500 million gallons of Devon Energy's wastewater, which would otherwise have been injected into disposal wells and permanently removed from the hydrological cycle.
Due to the recent slowdown in drilling activity in the Barnett, Aqua-Pure has been able to re-deploy some of its evaporator equipment to other areas, including Pennsylvania and, soon, to the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas. The company is also building new units in anticipation of continued demand in shale plays across North America.
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