Shell using treated wastewater for Groundbirch gas field fracturing

Sept. 12, 2012
Royal Dutch Shell PLC is using the Dawson Creek Reclaimed Water treatment plant to provide water for hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in the Greater Groundbirch area in Northeast British Columbia where Shell drills in the Upper Montney shale.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is using the Dawson Creek Reclaimed Water treatment plant to provide water for hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in the Greater Groundbirch area in Northeast British Columbia where Shell drills in the Upper Montney shale.

The treatment plant is in the city of Dawson Creek, some 1,191 km northeast of Vancouver, BC. Shell executives and Dawson Creek city officials celebrated the wastewater treatment plant opening on Sept. 7. The plant has a capacity of 4,000 cu m/day.

Shell will move its share of the treated water by pipeline 48 km to Groundbirch gas field. The treated wastewater will be stored in ponds and later mixed with recycled production water to be used in drilling and well completions.

Shell’s Groundbirch complex includes five gas processing plants, more than 250 wells, and a gas-gathering system. Shell plans to drill 3,000 wells over 20 years from Upper Montney microlaminated shales and siltstones at 2,200-3,000 m depth (OGJ, Oct. 3, 2011, p. 108).