Newfield Exploration Co. has broken ground on a water recycling facility in its STACK play in the Anadarko Basin in Kingfisher County, OK. The Barton Water Recycle Facility is expected to process 30,000 barrels of water per day upon completion early in the third quarter.

“The new Barton facility will be capable of recycling both the flowback and produced water currently generated from our STACK wells and hydraulic fracturing operations,” said Newfield Chairman Lee K. Boothby. “Today’s innovative technologies are allowing us to more cost-effectively recycle and reuse the water we produce from our operations.”

STACK stands for Sooner Trend of the Anadarko Basin in Canadian and Kingfisher counties.

The Barton facility will utilize aerated biologic treatment technology to convert produced water into recycled water for hydraulic fracturing. The treatment process uses natural and enhanced bioremediation, or good bacteria and nutrients, to separate and break down any existing impurities that may be contained in the produced water. The result is a high-quality water primarily free of impurities — very similar to what is initially found in the reservoir rock, Newfield said.

Newfield has invested more than $40 million in water management infrastructure in its STACK play. The new recycling facility is a multi-million dollar investment located on a 30-acre site. It will connect to seven pits with nearly 6.5 million barrels of storage capacity utilizing more than 70 miles of underground pipeline by the end of 2017.