Oil & Gas

The Oil & Gas industry in North America, driven by hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) technology and operations, is facing a water shortage and storage crisis that can shut down an operation as fast as a dry well. Fresh water is limited by transportation cost, municipal regulations, and drought. Regulatory pressures, driven by health concerns, have created a business environment where sealing reject water from extraction operations into deep wells has become a limited option.

Opportunities for the TPR4000™ in Oil & Gas extraction include treating fracturing flow backwater and produced water (water that is brought to the surface along with the intended fuel products during extraction of oil, gas, and coal bed methane from underground formations). The TPR4000 is designed to replace oxidation and biocide treatment steps in a typical four- to seven-step process at a fixed or mobile Salt Water Disposal (SWD) facility. If the water is to be made potable for agricultural use or discharge, the Symbios TPR4000 will also be used as a final “polishing” step to ensure dissolved methanol is removed. The TPR4000 is able to replace existing energy-hungry or poor-performing advanced oxidation processes, reduce or eliminate the use of biocides, reduce or eliminate chemical additives to stabilize clay, and reduce the overall maintenance cost of the water treatment system, in particular extending the life and reducing fouling of membranes. The resulting operating cost of the Symbios system is as low as one nineteenth of the cost of competitive options. The TPR4000 will also lower costs of coagulation and flocculation steps and maintenance of membrane and filters by reducing organic and bacterial fouling.