The Shale Water Research Center’s main goal is to systematically research water chemistry with the aim of reducing costs and increasing production from every well for our members.  We are accomplishing this with our members’ experience in field, the SWRC’s research experience in the oil and gas field, and advanced, detailed research into the water chemistry of shale production.

The intellectual property established by the SWRC will be rolled into multiple field decision making tools and procedures.  Our early protocols for sampling and testing water in the field will provide a sampling and analytical basis for the SWRC’s additive compatibility understanding.  Using real world data to refine theory, compatibility calculator software will allow for production companies and operators to make the proper choice of additive types and amounts for hydraulic fracing.

Additionally, SWRC will create a field water test kit that can rapidly analyze the most important water characteristics without the need for sending samples to a lab and waiting for results.  Using the field water test kit will yield substantial cost savings while still maintaining a high level of additive and treatment accuracy.

 

Procedures

The Shale Water Research Center will rapidly create exacting sampling procedures to ensure uniformity across water sampling.  To compliment these procedures, SWRC will at the same time establish uniform testing procedures which will be used to perform cogent analysis of the water samples retrieved from the field, ensuring consistency.

 

Compatibility Calculator Software

Additive and stream compatibility is paramount to properly treat injection and flowback water to maintain high production and no downhole completion issues in unconventional oil and gas wells. Research performed at SWRC will be directly integrated into a compatibility calculator software package that will allow real-time additive decision making ability for operators.  SWRC will additionally provide training to member companies’ engineers to ensure the successful integration of these tools.