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Started By
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re: WSJ Article: America’s Biggest Oil Field Is Turning Into a Pressure Cooker
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:05 pm to 777Tiger
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:05 pm to 777Tiger
Almost all water in the ground is salty. The rocks were deposited in a marine environment. Only shallow fresh water sands and aquifers are fresh. These intervals have to be isolated and protected from salt water and hydrocarbon bearing zones.
2
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:06 pm to AllDayEveryDay
Cheap gas is worth it
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:06 pm to Roughneck2020
quote:
Almost all water in the ground is salty. The rocks were deposited in a marine environment. Only shallow fresh water sands and aquifers are fresh. These intervals have to be isolated and protected from salt water and hydrocarbon bearing zones.
that was a joke baw, but thanks for the explanation
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:12 pm to LemmyLives
quote:
Does NVIDIA not sell racks that can be oil cooled?
The oil then needs to be cooled, and water is an absolute rockstar as a medium to remove/store/sink heat
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:16 pm to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
The oil then needs to be cooled,
Isn’t this what heat exchangers are for? Most petrochemical plants use them….. why not datacenters?
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:21 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
Isn’t this what heat exchangers are for? Most petrochemical plants use them….. why not datacenters?
Im sure data centers never even thought of this. They should've came to the OT for advice.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:26 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
Isn’t this what heat exchangers are for? Most petrochemical plants use them….. why not datacenters?
That’s exactly what heat exchangers are for, but there needs to be a fluid on the other side of the heat exchanger to remove the heat from the oil.
You could use air cooled systems that have giant fans to pull air through the exchanger and remove heat, but air has 1/4 the specific heat of water meaning 1 lb of air removes 1/4 the heat 1 lb of water can remove.
Then you factor in density of air vs water where water is about 900x more dense than air at sea level and 77F, and you would need 3,600x the volume of air as you would water to generate the same heat removal.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:28 pm to ragincajun03
Nice salt water west Texas lake with some redfish and specks would be great.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:32 pm to ragincajun03
You're an oil person. Can you give a back of the envelope estimate of how many barrels of water have been injected compared to barrels recovered? I know it's kind of in the clips you provided. How did that water go overpressured? So there's that much compression pressure injected into the ground?
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:32 pm to ragincajun03
quote:
Maybe the investors of these data centers would be willing to chip in on the costs to clean up that water if it means they then can use it for "free"?
The amount of power required to run a data center and a massive desalination plant would be astronomical
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:35 pm to Roughneck2020
quote:
These intervals have to be isolated and protected from salt water and hydrocarbon bearing zones.
Isn't that what surface casing is for?
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:44 pm to aTmTexas Dillo
quote:
Can you give a back of the envelope estimate of how many barrels of water have been injected compared to barrels recovered?
Oh hell no. I wouldn't even know where the heck to start.
quote:
How did that water go overpressured? So there's that much compression pressure injected into the ground?
I'm no geologist or reservoir engineer. They just tell me where they want to drill a well, and I try to make their wildest dreams come true. I've been in meetings where these new TX RRC and NMOCD pressure and zone limits are discussed, but I'm not smart enough to follow or remember it all.
I know the Delaware Mountain Group (LINK ), a formation that huge amounts have produced water has been injected into, is being highly watched and monitored by both industry and regulators these days.
This post was edited on 12/29/25 at 1:47 pm
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:45 pm to ragincajun03
We need to sell different grades of water on the NYMEX , create a market to capture , clean , and sell water.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:47 pm to ragincajun03
Going back to the good old days
Posted on 12/29/25 at 1:52 pm to justaniceguy
8 hour max production each day? Good luck.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 2:16 pm to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
That’s exactly what heat exchangers are for, but there needs to be a fluid on the other side of the heat exchanger to remove the heat from the oil.
How about water? Like maybe this fracking wastewater instead of injecting it into the ground.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 2:32 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
Next dumb question - why is it saltwater to start with? Where is this saltwater coming from that they are pumping in - the Gulf?
There is salt water underground. Many times when drilling a water well for a home you will hit salt water.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 3:10 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
How about water? Like maybe this fracking wastewater instead of injecting it into the ground.
Possible but the exchangers, pumps, pipes & valves would have to be all made of very very expensive metallurgy and also if you ever had a tube leak or failure in the exchanger you would introduce very dirty water into your oil loop.
Likely not conducive for cost and risk of equipment in event of failure.
And ask the offshore folks how the salt water does to their exchangers. Swiss cheese even to the high metals after time.
This post was edited on 12/29/25 at 3:11 pm
Posted on 12/29/25 at 3:15 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
Next dumb question - why is it saltwater to start with? Where is this saltwater coming from that they are pumping in - the Gulf?
See the picture above posted by SECCaptain.
Posted on 12/29/25 at 3:23 pm to Pax Regis
quote:
quote:That’s exactly what heat exchangers are for, but there needs to be a fluid on the other side of the heat exchanger to remove the heat from the oil. How about water? Like maybe this fracking wastewater instead of injecting it into the ground.
Salt water, like the water that comes from these wells is so freaking corrosive compared to fresh water that the metal would be completely eaten away so quickly that system would never be operational.
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