Water is among the world’s most precious resources. Like many industries, water plays an important role in oil and natural gas production.
Oil and natural gas producers continue to advance opportunities to reduce operational dependency on fresh water sources (rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers), including integrating and reusing reclaimed water from municipal water treatment plants, saline water from deep aquifers, and produced water from operations where possible.
How water is used
Water is used in oil and natural gas operations many ways including:
- In oil sands mining, hot water is used to separate bitumen from sand and clay. This is the largest use of water for oil and gas activities..
- In oil sands in situ operations, water is used to generate steam is to heat the bitumen underground.
- In conventional production, water can be pumped into an older reservoir to flush out trapped oil, a process called enhanced oil recovery to access more resources from existing wells.
- In hydraulic fracturing, water is pumped at high pressure into rock formations to create tiny cracks and fractures in the rock, freeing trapped oil and natural gas.
- In managing dust on unpaved roads for the safety of operations personnel and the public.
Water may also be used in drilling operations, for building winter roads, for pipeline testing, and for other non-production purposes.
How much fresh water is used
Companies must apply for a licence or approval from the provincial regulator to use fresh water. The approval has conditions attached that require the company to report quantities of water used and may require submission of monitoring data to ensure the operator’s activities avoid or minimize impacts to water resources.
Industry’s water use in Alberta and British Columbia is publicly available on the regulators’ websites:
- Alberta Energy Regulator Industry Water Use Performance Report
In 2022, the oil and natural gas industry in Alberta used about 261 million cubic metres (m3) of fresh water, equivalent to 0.180% of the fresh water available in Alberta. Over 80% of this water was used for oil sands mining. (Source: AER Water Use Performance Report 2022)
- B.C. Energy Regulator Quarterly Water Management Summaries
In 2022, the oil and natural gas industry in British Columbia used about 5.2 million m3 of fresh water, equivalent to 0.004% of annual runoff that replenishes annually in Northeastern British Columbia. (Source: B.C. Energy Regulator Fact Sheet: Water Used in Natural Gas Activities)
Reducing fresh water use
The oil and natural gas industry has significantly improved its water use intensity (the volume of fresh water used to produce a barrel of oil equivalent). Most water used by the industry can be recycled and re-used many times, reducing the need to obtain fresh water from sources such as rivers, lakes, or groundwater aquifers.
The industry works to reduce fresh water use in the following ways:
- Recycling water for re-use in operations.
- Using low-quality alternatives to fresh water, such as deep saline groundwater or produced water (water from the underground reservoir that comes to the surface along with oil or natural gas).
- Collaborating on water management by sharing operational water and infrastructure with other operators.
- Working with communities to re-use treated municipal and/or industrial wastewater.
Drought preparedness
Oil and natural gas companies are proactively planning for fresh water shortages by assessing ways to reduce surface water use in their operations, including the evaluation of alternative water sources.
Groundwater protection
Today, most oil and natural gas wells are drilled to a depth of between two to three kilometres below the surface, or more. Drinking water aquifers are generally much shallower, between 18 and 300 metres below surface. Well construction practices and materials are subject to strict rules to protect fresh water resources and prevent water contamination.
When a well is drilled, multiple layers of steel casing are inserted into the well and cemented in place. This creates a solid barrier between the well and any fresh groundwater sources.
As important as the steel casing is, the cement enhances groundwater protection by creating a hydraulic barrier which prevents migration of fluid from deeper zones into groundwater resources.
Regulations are in place to protect the environment and to ensure a well is properly engineered to maintain safety and integrity over its full life cycle.
Hydraulic fracturing
To support a responsible approach to water management in hydraulic fracturing operations, CAPP and its members developed Hydraulic Fracturing Guiding Principles and Operating Practices.
