Water Supply Development
Water is the critical element for the development of the Marcellus Shale due to the large volumes of water needed to hydraulically fracture the wells. The range of volumes needed are anywhere from 1.5 million gallons for a typical vertical well to 5 million or more gallons for a horizontal well.
Bulk Water Supply:
ARM Oil & Gas Solutions (AOGS) manages and operates Keystone Clearwater Solutions, LLC, which has access to approximately 5,000,000 gallons per day of water to supply Marcellus Shale operations in Centre and Clearfield Counties, Pennsylvania.
Permitting:
Navigating the varying rules associated with local, state and federal regulatory agencies (including the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) and Delaware River Basin Commissions (DRBC)) is an essential element to successfully securing ample water supply for your drilling needs.
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Water withdrawal permitting mismanagement can be costly:
Recent fines by the SRBC (through Sept. 2008) against four oil and gas companies operating in PA
totaled $1.8 million.
AOGS has the experience to secure water supplies, having successfully obtained multiple large-volume permits throughout the Appalachian Basin.
Under new regulations, if a company applies for a drilling permit for a Marcellus Shale gas well and it is proposing to use from water sources within the Commonwealth for well fracturing activities, it must do so in accordance with a Water Management Plan (WMP) approved by the PADEP. AOGS has developed many WMP’s for operators in the Marcellus that have been approved by the PADEP.
Timeline management is important to staying on course for drilling development. Turnaround times for water supply permits vary depending on the applicable basin in which a company is operating. AOGS can help manage the expected permit timelines due to its experience in permitting withdrawal points across the state and, therefore, allow companies to stay on course with their drilling schedules. In addition, AOGS finds sustainable water sources that reduce potential environmental impacts and minimize the need for trucking water by direct piping to impoundments.
The use of water for drilling and hydraulic fracturing is considered a consumptive use of water since it is not returned to the environment and, therefore, requires a “consumptive use permit” when operating in the Susquehanna or Delaware River Basins. A consumptive use permit is needed for each drilling pad before any drilling operations can commence and is, therefore, just as crucial as the water supply permitting process. AOGS has the expertise to secure consumptive use permits throughout the Appalachian Basin, having successfully done so for multiple companies.
AOGS hydrogeologists provide an integrated approach to manage water use for Marcellus operations to ensure cost-effective and environmentally sound development of natural gas.