Bureau Injection Expert Outlines Challenges of Produced Water Disposal

The Bureau of Economic Geology's Dr. Katie Smye has been studying the risks of produced water injection for many years. Her thorough research and comprehensive maps are frequently cited and utilized, and her presentations draw large, interested audiences. Now, as Principal Investigator for the Bureau's Center for Injection and Seismicity Research (CISR), Dr. Smye has been invited by the Journal of Petroleum Technology to provide her perspective on the current challenges inherent in produced water injection in an editorial entitled, "Rising Pressures and Legacy Wells—The Permian Basin’s Next Challenge" (see: https://jpt.spe.org/guest-editorial-rising-pressures-and-legacy-wells-the-permian-basins-next-challenge).

In the editorial, Dr. Smye reports on the progress made, not insignificantly through CISR research, in mitigating the hazards of deep injection of produced water into carbonate reservoirs below producing shales and above the basement. Now, produced water is increasingly being injected into shallower reservoirs, and rising pressures are presenting a new set of issues, impacting operations and threatening legacy wells. As Dr. Smye writes about shallow injection in the Permian Basin, these challenges "... demand shared solutions and partnerships between industry, regulators, and academia to ensure sustained output from the world’s most productive oil field."

The Journal of Petroleum Technology is the flagship magazine of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). It presents authoritative briefs and features on E&P technology advancements, oil and gas industry issues, and news about SPE and its members.

For more information about the timely and important work of the Center for Injection and Seismicity Research, or to join, please contact Dr. Katie Smye.