Water Produced With Oil And Gas -- A Concern For Production And Development Of Petroleum Resources

Water produced with oil and gas can affect petroleum resource development and, if improperly<br>handled, adversely impact the environment. Dissolved salts, organic compounds, trace metals and<br>radionuclides in the 20 billion barrels of produced water handled annually in the U.S., limit<br>methods of disposal. Inadvertent discharge of this water and historic practices of water disposal<br>have resulted in contamination of production sites by substances dissolved and suspended in the<br>water as well as solids that precipitated from the water. Investigations related to produced water<br>underway at the USGS are focused on understanding geochemical and hydrologic processes and<br>applications of geophysics. Understanding the processes that affect the accumulation and<br>dispersion of substances contained in produced water will refine site assessment techniques and<br>provide additional tools to evaluate the impact of produced water on soil and water quality.