Case Studies / Upstream

🇺🇸 Marcellus Mobile Frac Flowback Fleet

West Virginia & Pennsylvania, USA

Project Overview

A major Marcellus operator wanted 100% water reuse across 6 active pads — eliminating produced-water hauling ($3.50–4.50/bbl) and freshwater trucking ($1.80/bbl) by treating flowback and produced water on-pad for reuse in the next frac job. Water TDS ranged 70,000–220,000 mg/L with high barium, strontium, and sulfates.

The Challenge

On-pad reuse requires consistent water quality regardless of TDS swings between pads and stages. Traditional fixed facilities could not move with the rig schedule, and trucking water between a central plant and the pads negated the cost savings.

WFS Solution

WFS deployed a fleet of RapidDeploy™ mobile treatment trains — primary separation, DAF, multimedia/UF filtration, ion-exchange softening, and chemical conditioning — sized to follow the operator's pad schedule. SCADA telemetry from every unit fed a central operations dashboard for real-time quality assurance.

Technologies Applied

  • Mobile 3-Phase Separation
  • Compact DAF
  • Multimedia + UF Filtration
  • Ion-Exchange Softening
  • Fleet SCADA Telemetry

Results Achieved

96% (vs 12%)
Water Reuse Achieved
$28M/year
Disposal Cost Eliminated
15 million bbl
Water Treated (Yr 1)
7.8M bbl/yr
Freshwater Offset

Performance Outcomes

  • Water reuse jumped from 12% baseline to 96%
  • $28M/year of disposal and freshwater costs eliminated
  • 15 million barrels treated in Year 1
  • 7.8 million bbl/yr of freshwater sourcing displaced

Your Project Could Be Next

Talk to a WFS engineer about your specific water challenge.