Register      Login
Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Zero Waste Well – the beneficial use of produced water from CSG projects

Paul Wybrew
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Santos Ltd, GPO Box 1010, Brisbane, Qld 4001, Australia. Email: paul.wybrew@santos.com

The APPEA Journal 59(2) 756-758 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18253
Accepted: 7 March 2019   Published: 17 June 2019

Abstract

Most onshore gas provinces in Australia are in remote locations where it is expensive to bring materials to, and take waste away from, well sites. Importantly, water is not only an input to, and a product of, the drilling, completion, construction and production process, it is also a precious resource. That is why Santos has been working towards the ‘Zero Waste Well’. Historically, separate drilling, completion, construction and operational teams were involved in sourcing and disposing of water without taking a holistic view of the water cycle. By taking a collaborative approach and looking at the complete water cycle, Santos has been able to reduce its water use and eliminate wastewater by reusing all of the produced water in its Queensland coal seam gas upstream activities for beneficial purposes. As part of the Zero Waste Well concept, Santos has identified and implemented a range of initiatives for beneficially reusing produced water. These include stock watering, construction, dust suppression, rehabilitation, and drilling and completion activities. One of the most exciting innovations is to beneficially reuse produced water for localised irrigation. This avoids or minimises the need for large centralised water gathering systems and large static centralised water storages and treatment plants. This also minimises the environmental footprint, energy intensity, carbon emissions and brine wastes from Santos’ activities. Localised irrigation not only reduces construction and operating costs, and engineering design and construction timeframes for Santos, it provides a valuable pasture irrigation source for local landholders.

Keywords: land amendment irrigation, produced water management.

Paul Wybrew is the Manager Environment – Technical, Monitoring and Approvals at Santos where he is responsible for obtaining all State and Commonwealth environmental approvals pertaining to the exploration, development, operation and decommissioning of Santos’ onshore oil and gas facilities and activities. He leads a multi-disciplinary team of technical professionals responsible for undertaking a broad range of environmental studies and assessments as well as implementing Santos’ environmental monitoring programs. Paul graduated from the University of Adelaide (BSc) before moving to Brisbane to work as a consultant environmental geologist. Paul joined Santos in 2009 and has held several positions. A highlight includes the Environmental Impact Assessment and associated stakeholder engagement and community consultation for the Santos GLNG Gas Field Development Project.


References

Bennett, J. McL., Marchuk, A., Raine, S. R., Dalzell, S. A., and Macfarlane, D. C. (2016). Managing land application of coal seam water: a field study of land amendment irrigation using saline-sodic and alkaline water on a Red Vertisol. Journal of Environmental Management 184, 178–185.
Managing land application of coal seam water: a field study of land amendment irrigation using saline-sodic and alkaline water on a Red Vertisol.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Cicchelli, F., Wehr, B. J., Dalzell, S. A., Li, C., Menzies, N., and Kopittke, P. M. (2016). Overhead-irrigation with saline and alkaline water: deleterious effects on foliage of Rhodes grass and leucaena. Agricultural Water Management 169, 173–182.
Overhead-irrigation with saline and alkaline water: deleterious effects on foliage of Rhodes grass and leucaena.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2014). General beneficial use approval – irrigation of associated water (including coal seam gas water). Queensland Government. Available at https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/assets/documents/regulation/wr-ga-associated-water.pdf [Verified 21 March 2019].

Ezlit, Y. D., Smith, R. J., Raine, S. R. (2010). A review of salinity and sodicity in Irrigation. CRC for Irrigation Futures Matters Series No. 01/10. Available at https://www.irrigationaustralia.com.au/documents/item/276 [Verified 21 March 2019].

Underschultz, J. R., Vink, S., and Garnett, A. (2018). Coal seam gas associated water production in Queensland: actual vs predicted. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 52, 410–422.
Coal seam gas associated water production in Queensland: actual vs predicted.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |