ENERGY & MINERALS

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Produced Water Management Tools, Uinta Basin

Basin-Scale Produced-Water Management Tools and Options
GIS-Based Models and Statistical Analysis of Shale Gas/Tight Sand Reservoirs and Their Produced-Water Streams, Uinta Basin, Utah

Funded by Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA): Small Producer Program and the Utah Geological Survey

Oil and gas fields of the Uinta Basin, eastern Utah.
Oil and gas fields of the Uinta Basin, eastern Utah.
Drilling operations in the Uinta Basin.
Drilling operations in the Uinta Basin.
Stratigraphic column from the surface down through the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic-age Nugget Sandstone in the Uinta Basin showing major oil- and gas-producing reservoirs, seals, water disposal zones, and shallow groundwater aquifers. Modified from Hintze and Kowallis (2009), Geologic History of Utah.
Stratigraphic column from the surface down through the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic-age Nugget Sandstone in the Uinta Basin showing major oil- and gas-producing reservoirs, seals, water disposal zones, and shallow groundwater aquifers. Modified from Hintze and Kowallis (2009), Geologic History of Utah.

Objectives

  • Create basin-wide, digital produced-water management tools.
  • Integrate produced-water character, water disposal/reuse, water transport, and groundwater sensitivity factors to allow for quicker and more efficient regulatory and management decisions related to unconventional gas developments.
  • Investigate the option of beneficial use of produced-water treatment for geothermal heat recovery or power generation.
  • Promote maximized produced-water reuse which will minimize use of freshwater in unconventional gas development and production.
  • Compile Uinta Basin produced-water management practices and recommend best practices.
  • Seek to increase protection of critical Uinta Basin alluvial aquifers.