Colorado and CBM - 230,000 barrels / day of water
In 2004, Pioneer purchased Evergreen, making the company the largest producer in the Raton Basin. In 2006, the company drilled 288 wells there.
The company's aim is to produce gas, but much of Pioneer's time is dedicated to managing the water, company officials say.
Pioneer executives say up to 230,000 barrels of water are produced each day in the Raton Basin by coal-bed methane wells.
About a third of Pioneer's water is discharged into waterways, a third is placed in pits and a third is injected underground, according to the company.
It costs about $1 million to build an injection well - Pioneer has eight dedicated to disposal of coal-bed methane water.
While some of the water in Raton Basin contains high levels of salt, it is better quality than the water being produced in the Powder River Basin, U.S. Geological Survey research shows.
"It's important to realize each coal-bed methane basin is different," said Jerry Jacob, Pioneer's environmental manager. "When people talk about coal-bed methane and coal-bed natural gas, it's different as night and day."
"This basin is nothing like the Powder River Basin - the water quality is different; water quality is much more variable, the way the coals are drilled and produced, it's all completely different," Jacob said. |
