Water

A new study from the University of Arizona and the University of Saskatchewan finds that conventional oil and gas drilling has a greater impact on groundwater than does unconventional drilling.

Appalachian producers trying to control costs in a low-price natural gas environment, along with their counterparts in the Permian Basin grappling with soaring production volumes, are more seriously thinking about water management in what could be a big opportunity for the midstream sector in the coming years.

Lower 48 well site services giant Basic Energy Services Inc. saw less pressure pumping activity during the first quarter, particularly for hydraulic fracturing services, but production services outperformed, setting the stage for an overall strong year even on less spending.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign bipartisan legislation to reform regulations covering produced water from oil and gas operations, including in the booming Permian Basin, after lawmakers in the state House and Senate agreed to several amendments.

Oklahoma regulators have exclusive jurisdiction over all oil and natural gas operations, the state’s high court has ruled, siding against Kingfisher County officials, who had attempted to ban the use of temporary wastewater lines on private property.

A subsidiary of Legacy Reserves Inc. has signed a long-term agreement that will have Houston-based H2O Midstream gathering, disposing and redelivering produced water for reuse from horizontal wells in the Permian Basin.

WildHorse Resource Development Corp., which primarily operates in the East Texas portion of the Eagle Ford Shale, is building an oil and produced water gathering system for its operations that could be completed by mid-2019.

Permian Basin operators have been raising more rigs and ramping up completions of late, but persistent water issues could be a material risk to future profitability and production, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Less than two weeks after a federal appeals court in Manhattan declined to force regulators in New York State to issue a water permit for the Constitution Pipeline, supporters of the Northern Access expansion — another embattled project also denied a water permit — told the same court the two cases are not alike and that a different ruling is warranted.