magazine

Feature
Pooling Data:
The Bakken’s Need for
Water in the Future
By Jennifer Ryan
There is so much to measure: The energy boom in North Dakota is a phenomenon
that has garnered a great deal of data. Those working and producing in the
oilfields want to know how many wells, how many barrels, how many gallons.
Those in the media want to know. Those who work, live, and play in the affected
regions want to know. Politicians want to know. Competitors want to know.
The data is well-documented and, for the most part, readily accessible. Number crunchers
and analysts work to provide daily results, as well as projections and predictions for the longterm.
Those future forecasts are particularly important, as they estimate the viability of a specific
region and its likely sustainability as an oil-producing well.
But those gallons and barrels of oil could never be calculated if it weren’t for the high number
of gallons of water used on the oilfields every day. Just as important as the number of barrels of
oil collected, analysts are keeping a close count on water—and what those numbers show in the
Bakken oilfield is a little worrisome; if not today, then in the near future. In about 35 years,
the Bakken fields will no longer be sustainable based on the amount of water needed and
the amount of water available.
Water’s role in the Bakken
Water serves three main purposes for oil production in North Dakota.
First, water is a key ingredient in the hydraulic fracturing process. Currently,
each well uses 3.5 million gallons of water per year to undergo
the revolutionary fracking method. That volume of water has remained
fairly steady over the past two to three years and can be
used as a reliable indicator of water needs in the future.
Second, fresh water is needed to maintain the wells.
Because the Bakken and surrounding regions like
Three Forks have a high salt content, the water
also has a higher degree of salinity. As wells
age, they need fresh water poured in
weekly to combat the infusion of
salt. The number of gallons
needed for
BASIN BITS | Spring 2014 63