Page 16 The Northeast ONG Marketplace

By: Brian Kalt, General Manager, Fairmont Brine Processing

With suppressed natural gas prices and oil sub $50/bbl, many exploration and production (E&P) companies have suspended shale gas completions activities. This suspension results in the growing reserves of produced water. Typically,

in the Marcellus approximately 2/3 of produced water is recycled in subsequent hydraulic-fracturing activities, with the balance disposed of. As fracturing dries up, produced water disposal increases. With limited number of available deep injection wells in the region, an alternative to deep injection is paramount. Fairmont Brine Processing (FAIRMONT) has developed an alternative to deep injection and currently has the only commercially viable, full-scale frac water treatment process. In 2013, FAIRMONT pioneered a patented brine water recycling process that includes chemical precipitation and multiple effect evaporation & crystallization. This process is an environmentally responsible and cost-affective alternative to deep well injection. FAIRMONT operates under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, also known as an NPDES. This permit allows FAIRMONT to discharge distilled water into the Monaghalea River. In addition, FAIRMONT produces saleable salts including sodium and calcium chloride.

Fairmont’s patent on this process is enforceable for the next 20 years, which protects their Intellectual Property (IP) for the recycling of E&P brines into distilled water and salts. Although evaporation has been going on since the dawn of time and

crystallization since the 19th century, the art, and FAIRMONT’S patent, is based on the knowledge and understanding of all the steps necessary to make the salts saleable (or at least not radioactive waste), as well as, the correct pretreatment chemicals and their dosing rates. Putting it all together under one process is extremely difficult, and why Fairmont has a patent. If one was to not sell any salt (sodium or calcium chloride), significant pretreatment is still necessary to remove the barium and associated radium. Barium can be problematic during the crystallization process as it can co-precipitate as barium chloride (BaCl2) with sodium chloride. In addition, barium removal is essential to remove associated naturally occurring radioactive materials. One Hundred percent (100%) of the produced waters received at the current facility in Fairmont, WV are recovered as distilled water and ASTM industrial grade salts. Furthermore, FAIRMONT and TETRA Technologies, Inc. (TETRA (NYSE:TTI) have signed a fifteen (15) year deal for the sales, marketing and distribution of sodium and calcium chloride salts produced at the Fairmont Brine Processing facility in Fairmont, WV. The deal includes two automatic five (5) year renewals. TETRA will purchase, market and distribute all salt products produced at the facility. FAIRMONT currently produces 60 dry tons per day of sodium chloride and 55 dry tons per day (equivalent) of calcium chloride as a clear brine fluid. The Fairmont, WV plant is only the second plant in the world to produce ASTM grade sodium and calcium chloride salts from a mixed salt brine feedstock, and the only such plant to do it on a shale brine feedstock. Since FAIRMONT began operations in 2014, they have been looking for a strong partner with intimate knowledge of the salt market, as well as the oil and gas market, and TETRA provides both. In addition, this deal includes salt produced at all subsequent facilities including a second plant to be built in the West Virginia Pan Handle. That plant will be a 50,000 bbl/day facility and will produce upwards of 240,000 dry metric tons (DMT) of sodium chloride and 120,000 DMT of calcium chloride. The Pan Handle plant will produce a dry, ASTM grade calcium chloride product, as well as clear brine fluids.

According to a report prepared for the Groundwater Protection Council, 63,372,459 bbls of water returned to the earth’s surface as a result of the drilling and hydraulic-fracturing process throughout the Appalachian Basin. Of that total volume produced, 25,428,503 bbls of water were sequestered back down beneath the earth’s surface via deep well injection. Although the Marcellus and Utica shale gas plays have the potential to become the world’s second largest natural gas field, a key challenge to fully developing this resource is water management. Whereas source water is abundant compared to other plays, produced water disposal by deep-well injection is severely limited. Through a simulated life cycle analysis of a finite development area (e.g., a county), as more wells are brought into production, which generates

FAIRMONT BRINE PROCESSING – AN ALTERNATIVE TO DEEP INJECTION

NEWTECHNOLOGY

more produced water, and the rate of new completions peaks and begins to decline (requiring less produced water for blend-stock to be used in subsequent fracturing operations), the supply of produced water will eventually overtake the demand for produced water. Thus, in the long term, for sustained development of the Appalachian Basin, economical water and

salt recovery options are needed. Throughout the years, deep well injection has served as the primary outlet for the disposal of the wastewater produced throughout the drilling and hydraulic-fracturing process. However, the current landscape of the geological formation simply can’t support what stands to be produced. Over the past several months, there has been an uptick in the media’s coverage of deep well injection. Behind closed doors, industry veterans would tell you that the drilling and fracturing process is not causing the induced seismic activity, but rather sequestering trillions of gallons of fluid beneath the earth’s surface is the real culprit. Unfortunately, these numbers are not inflated-- in ten years, the industry would have to pump almost 400,000 bbls of water back down hole on a daily basis and maintain sufficient pressure to keep it there. This is simply not feasible, and the industry recognizes this. Reuse of such a large fraction of the produced water for hydraulic-fracturing, while economically and environmentally beneficial, is not sustainable. In the long

term, there will be a growing need for processes to economically recover produced water as clean water that can be either utilized for beneficial purposes or discharged safely. Fairmont Brine Processing has a lot to offer the E&P industry, through our patented process and our intimate know-how and trade secrets not detailed in our patent. While Fairmont may be a small company today, it’s entrepreneurial spirit coupled with its continued ability to be the only company in the world that is able to produce saleable salts from a mixed brine E&P feedstock, offers the industry significant value and the only commercially available option to deep injection of frac and produced water.

For more information, contact Brian Kalt at 412-680-6244 or BKalt@fairmontbrine.com

September 2015 Page 17

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