GE, STW to Turn Oil and Gas Waste into Water Supply
GE Water & Process Technologies and STW Resources, Inc. announced recently that they formed a collaborative that will drastically reduce the amount of freshwater lost to the environment due to hydraulic fracturing, a commonly used oil and gas process.
Each year, hydraulic fracturing produces billions of gallons of wastewater while increasing the production rate of oil and gas wells. Texas alone—the largest oil and gas producing state in the United States—discards more than 6 billion barrels annually of oilfield wastewater into the state's 50,000 permitted disposal wells. Using an innovative, cost-effective process and patented GE Thermal Evaporation technologies, the collaborative will help oil and gas customers recover up to 70 percent of their hydraulic fracturing wastewater.
"This effort will leverage STW's vast knowledge and contacts in the oil and gas industry and our broad portfolio of innovative solutions to deliver economic and environmental benefits," said Jeff Garwood, president and chief executive officer, GE Water & Process Technologies.
The GE-STW collaborative will initially address the wastewater challenges of Barnett, Fayetteville, and Appalachian Shale natural gas drilling plays – locations known for tough-to-treat wastewater. The reclaimed water can be reused in the next well or safely returned back to the environment. GE and STW will form project-specific companies, under the banner of "Water Reclamation Partners" and will offer multi-year cost-per-barrel based service agreements. Water Reclamation Partners will build, own, and operate the equipment and processes required to treat the wastewater and recover reusable water.
"Our vision is to create solutions that address some of the oil and gas sector's toughest wastewater and recycling challenges," said Stanley Weiner, chief executive officer, STW Resources. "This effort will enable growth while decreasing the amount of water taken out of the natural environment."
STW Resources, Inc. is a newly formed corporation located in Midland, Texas, with an operations office in Houston.