Water

[cowman]

There was a very good show on the National about water last night. It was about how the oil companies inject water down into the formation to force up the oil and gas. Every year they use an equivilant amount to what Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge use. The sticker is this water is lost forever while the cities water is recycled back into the eco-system.
Most of this "injection" is done to enhance production in the short term. Usually because the company is trying to boost its production figures to enhance a takeover. I have seen wells "watered out" in a year when they should have produced for many years. This is a very poor strategy for long term production.
And in the meantime that water is lost forever.

[cakadu]

Makes me wonder sometimes why we just go after CFO's in terms of water usage and problems. There are many other things that use vast amounts of water, which as you've pointed out, are lost forever. At what point are we going to get concerned over how much water is used in getting oil?

A friend told me about how the Clearwater river has gone down so much because of all the water being taken from it to use in getting oil. Any truth to that?

Shouldn't these oil companies be thinking about the longer term, or is everything just about a dollar?

[cowman]

I'm not sure about the Clearwater, although they probably use a lot of production water(water that comes up with the gas)due to the fact that it is mainly sour gas in that area. I do know they use a lot from the Red Deer river for injection.
Oil Companies look only at a 6 month window. Because frankly most of them don't last all that long. The plan seems to be get a field producing to its maximum and then sell out to an American company or a Petro fund. They in turn pump it for all its worth...usually ruining the well within a short period of time. Its all about dollars.
Just to drill a well requires a lot of water. About 40 loads of 100 barrels each. Not all of this water is lost but is spread back on the land, usually. But the injection water is gone forever. In a pig barn that water is recycled through the eco-system. And that liquid pig manure is a lot cleaner than the stuff that comes out of the drilling pit.

[cakadu]

If that is the case then, a couple of questions come to mind. What is everyone getting so upset with more pig barns for - if their wastes are cleaner than those of oil rigs? What about some of these other things that take huge amounts of water? Is all this up in arms about more pig barns just because it is the "flavor of the day?"

What is being done in terms of making oil companies accountable for what they do? I know that my friends in the oil patch tell me that they are policed quite heavily, but by whom and what are they looking for?

Your thoughts?

[pandiana]

I heard this same feature last night. Its funny how you know about these things but until someone puts some figures out there it doesn't really hit you. My reaction is very similar to yours, cowman and cakadu. Canadians, it seems are in general more than eager to sell everything from water, minerals, oil, gas timber and agriculture products, with little thought to what our children will do when we no longer have these resources. Surely by now Canadians should be waking up to the fact that all our resources are in limited supply and many may run out in our lifetime.

[pandiana]

cakadu: I also heard a feature on how mining companies have changed their approach and are becoming more responsible. The problem is however, when confronted with the fact that, worldwide, the devastation and ghost towns that are left after these companies pull out become the responsibility of the community. The companies are supposedly becoming proactive in terms of supporting the communities with education and committment to reclamation. I believe that all resources that are removed should be assessed with an environmental cost upfront which would go along way in ensuring sustainability.

[cowman]

The oil industry is highly regulated. But it is an industry that has to pollute. Example:We all know flaring is not good for our health or environment but there is no viable solution. Also the government can have all kinds of regulations, but if they won't hire anyone to enforce them, why do you need to comply? The Alberta government is very cheap when it comes to putting any money into anything that doesn't reap an immediate political reward. An example was what happened last fall when drilling rigs sat idle because there were only two women issueing the drilling permits and they couldn't keep up. Millions and millions lost because the government was too cheap to hire a couple more people. I think eventually they did.
The decision to spread drilling mud was probably a step forward as before they just covered up the pit. Thousands of little time bombs buried all over Alberta! The only problem is they use a lot more water to drill when spreading. They will tell you this product is entirely safe as they have added chemicals to neutralize it. Ask them about the radioactive isotopes in it! I guess why liquid pig manure is such a big problem is that it really smells bad.

[nakodo]

Now lets see it rains an inch on very square inch of Canada in a good rain, how many bizillions of gallons of water does this equal???

We pump some down into a well, we free up some co2 and the plants turn it into o2 depending if it is night or day, then it forms into h2o and down it comes.

That show was a symptom of a drought in the prairies and VERY little science!

Like complaining about the wide spread crop menace called horteum vulgare, a crop running wild, fermented versions result in abberant behavior, people who drink the toxic poison get fat...

come on lets get some fair journalism and not this innuendo

[cowman]

Well I'm no scientist but I think the water moves in a cycle. When you inject that water one or two miles underground it takes thousands of years to perculate to the surface(if ever). When you say we release CO2 is that a good thing? I thought the whole idea of global warming was things like too much CO2. I hope you are not saying there is no such thing as global warming? I mean even the Alliance Party says there is global warming!
I am not so much against how much water the oil companies use(why bite the hand that feeds you?) as to the effectiveness of water injection. Oh it works big time, but only as a quick fix. They can recover alot more gas in a short period but they ruin a well that could have produced a lot more product over a longer period of time. So not only is the water lost forever but also a large part of the gas and oil.
I am amazed that you would question the integrity of Mother Corp.?