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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
Houston Geological Society Bulletin
Abstract
ABSTRACT: 
Water
Demand in Texas Shale Plays
Water Demand in Texas Shale Plays
The University of Texas at Austin,
Bureau of Economic Geology
Shale-gas production that applies hydraulic fracturing in mostly
horizontal wells has resulted in considerable controversy over
water-resource impacts. The objective of a recent study was to
quantify water demand for shale-gas production in Texas. The state
is the major producer of shale gas in the U.S. with three major plays
— the Barnett Shale with 14,900 wells as of mid-2011, the
Haynesville Shale with 390 wells in Texas, and the Eagle Ford Shale
with 1,040 wells. Past water use was estimated from wellcompletion
data; future water use was extrapolated from past water
use constrained by shale-gas resources. Cumulative water use in
the Barnett totaled 117,000 acre-feet (AF) from 2000 to mid-2011.
Water use in the Barnett in 2010 represented ~9% of water use in
Dallas. Water use in more recent 2008 – mid-2011 plays, although
less at first — 5,300 AF in the Texas section of the Haynesville, and 14,600 AF in the Eagle Ford — is increasing rapidly. Although water
use for shale gas is