Strategic Water Management for Shale Gas Production Under Uncertainty

To account for system uncertainty, this chapter provides a mathematical programming formulation for designing water networks related to shale gas hydraulic fracturing operations. The presented formulation results in a cost-effective strategic planning that considers the amount of water needed as well as the equipment capacities for storage, discharge, and treatment technologies. The primary unknowns are the amount of water used for hydraulic fracturing and the flowback water's time-based return. The objective function is to minimize the overall annual cost, which considers both the capital and operating expenses related to the water network. The completed phases for each of the projected wells are the outcome of the established model, which tackles the scheduling issue related to shale gas production. Estimating the times when water is needed and the locations where flowback water can be collected are done using the presented approach. The optimal equipment size is analyzed as part of the presented methodology. A demonstration of the capabilities of the presented methodology is provided through an example.