Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)

Massive development of unconventional resources using hydraulic fracturing (HF) procedures, has been carried out since the last three decades, with focus on Texas, USA, including the Eagle Ford (EF) play. International concerns have been raised regarding water and environmental impacts closely rela...

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Main Authors: Antonio Hernández-Espriú, Saúl Arciniega-Esparza, Sergio Macías-Medrano
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) 2019-04-01
Series:Terra Digitalis
Online Access:https://terradigitalis.igg.unam.mx/html/ojs3/index.php/terra_digitalis/article/view/59
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author Antonio Hernández-Espriú
Saúl Arciniega-Esparza
Sergio Macías-Medrano
author_facet Antonio Hernández-Espriú
Saúl Arciniega-Esparza
Sergio Macías-Medrano
author_sort Antonio Hernández-Espriú
collection DOAJ
description Massive development of unconventional resources using hydraulic fracturing (HF) procedures, has been carried out since the last three decades, with focus on Texas, USA, including the Eagle Ford (EF) play. International concerns have been raised regarding water and environmental impacts closely related to shale production. The aim of this paper is to map spatio-temporal trends of HF development (water use and well density) examining the entire production period in the EF. We used FracFocus as the main source of HF information, from 2009 to 2017. Our database managed in Python, SAGA GIS and QGIS, comprised 15,013 oil and gas well records. Statistical results show that median HF water use has been progressively increasing over time, from ~18,000 m3/well (2010) to ~38,000 m3/well (2017). Mapping results illustrate that both well density and HF water use peaked in 2014, whereas the area required for HF encompassed ~16,800 km2 or ~70% of the play surface area. We summarize our results in a public domain interactive GIS-based digital map.
format Article
id doaj-art-01be74e2e754426397439e4efb62dda4
institution OA Journals
issn 2594-0694
language English
publishDate 2019-04-01
publisher Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
record_format Article
series Terra Digitalis
spelling doaj-art-01be74e2e754426397439e4efb62dda42025-08-20T02:15:15ZengUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)Terra Digitalis2594-06942019-04-013110.22201/igg.25940694.2019.1.59Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)Antonio Hernández-Espriú0Saúl Arciniega-Esparza1Sergio Macías-Medrano2Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.Institute of Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico.Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico. Massive development of unconventional resources using hydraulic fracturing (HF) procedures, has been carried out since the last three decades, with focus on Texas, USA, including the Eagle Ford (EF) play. International concerns have been raised regarding water and environmental impacts closely related to shale production. The aim of this paper is to map spatio-temporal trends of HF development (water use and well density) examining the entire production period in the EF. We used FracFocus as the main source of HF information, from 2009 to 2017. Our database managed in Python, SAGA GIS and QGIS, comprised 15,013 oil and gas well records. Statistical results show that median HF water use has been progressively increasing over time, from ~18,000 m3/well (2010) to ~38,000 m3/well (2017). Mapping results illustrate that both well density and HF water use peaked in 2014, whereas the area required for HF encompassed ~16,800 km2 or ~70% of the play surface area. We summarize our results in a public domain interactive GIS-based digital map. https://terradigitalis.igg.unam.mx/html/ojs3/index.php/terra_digitalis/article/view/59
spellingShingle Antonio Hernández-Espriú
Saúl Arciniega-Esparza
Sergio Macías-Medrano
Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
Terra Digitalis
title Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
title_full Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
title_fullStr Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
title_full_unstemmed Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
title_short Water use spatio-temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the Eagle Ford Play, Texas (USA)
title_sort water use spatio temporal mapping linked to hydraulic fracturing across the eagle ford play texas usa
url https://terradigitalis.igg.unam.mx/html/ojs3/index.php/terra_digitalis/article/view/59
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