Only 2% the US fracking industry’s US$ 6 billion plus outlay on water management in 2014 was spent on treatment of the 70,000 Ml of contaminated water the industry produced according to a report by market analyst Bluefield Research. But the volume of reuse will almost double by 2020.
Bluefield forecast the the water treatment market for fracking will grow from US$138 million in 2014 to US$357 million in 2020 driven largely by growing risk on water suppliers. According to lead author on the report: Water for US hydraulic fracturing: competitive strategies solutions and outlook, 2014-2020, Bluefield Research analyst, Erin Bonney Casey, the risk arises form “tighter regulation and disposal costs on the rise.”
She predicts that water reuse in the tracking business will rise from an average of about 14% no to some 27% of total produced and plowback water by 2020. The growth will in part come from “significant gains in water management experience; adoption of more efficient water management strategies; and new policy mechanisms from regulators playing catchup with the fast moving tracking industry.”
Casey said “shifting regulation in 31 states, along with water supply risk, and alternative water solutions for fracking are driving competition in a fragmented value chain.”
The report profiles 57 leading players from across the water management supply chain under three tcategories: pure-play water service providers, energy service providers, and key technology providers.