A common joke in oil and gas production is that producers are more like water companies with a side hustle in oil and it’s true – oil producers are some of the best water managers in the world. And with Alberta facing an impending drought, it is this water management expertise of some of our local producers and service providers that is proving to be invaluable.
As it becomes clearer that we are heading towards a severe drought this year, with low water levels across many areas due to underwhelming snowpack and precipitation, significant concerns over water availability for 2024 have forced the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to take action. They have advised our industry to prepare for potential restrictions on water diversion and usage, emphasizing the importance of operational preparedness and the need for contingency plans in anticipation of continued dry conditions.
If drought conditions intensify, oil and gas producers – particularly those using Temporary Diversion Licenses (TDL) – may face even more stringent measures or be forced to halt operations altogether.
Luckily, here in Alberta some game-changing industry leaders are at the forefront of helping address this challenge head-on.
Digitize, Optimize and Automate
One such example is Galatea Technologies. Their digital platform helps producers better manage their waste, water, and oil commodities on trucks, and they are leading the charge. In response to their why, CEO Chad Hayden noted, “Before Galatea, our team worked as operators, transporters, and receivers, so we wanted to develop the digital system that we wished we had. So that’s what we are doing.”
This means making it easy for people in the field to get transparency into trucking and disposal costs and finding alternate reuse options like C-Rings or EOR floods, all while managing complexities like wait times, disposal capacities, and compatibility issues.
From the perspective of transporters, creating and receiving manifests or shipping documents becomes a burden. Through the digital platform, truck tickets are created, approved, and sent to accounts payable faster. By making the transporters’ lives easier, producers gain access to the best trucks and drivers and finally have a tool to benchmark performance based on data rather than cost.
The Technology of Water Management
The energy industry as a whole has been going through a very transformative period in how they manage water. More produced water is being reused than ever before. Plus, new technology like Interface Fluidics gives producers the ability to perform compatibility surveillance at reservoir conditions, and therefore better manage the risks. Now consider evolving water treatment technologies and this is only set to increase these opportunities.
There is a lot of value in produced water, from dissolved ions like lithium to the eventual reuse into industrial and agriculture as a viable end game. Everyone is onside and thirsty for more options, and a lot of the complexity comes down to execution. It’s hard to know the supply and demand equation, especially inter-company, but Galatea is striving to give the industry a platform to change that.
So, What’s Next?
The key to navigating the water shortages ahead of us as an industry is to build a transparent network to help producers share water and help transporters become the virtual pipelines that connect the network. With an existing and growing network in Western Canada and the Southern States, Galatea appears positioned to play a part in conserving one of the planet’s most precious resources, water, while enabling producers to provide the energy we need to improve the quality of life across the globe.
Learn how Galatea Technologies can help you digitize and optimize your operations to better manage your crucial resources – click here.