Class II Injection Wells safely return fluids associated with the production of oil and natural gas to layers of the earth where they naturally occur.

You can read more about Class II Injection Wells here.

Brine (saltwater) is a naturally occurring by-product of oil and natural gas production.  During oil and natural gas production, brine is brought to the earth’s surface.  Brine is saltier than seawater, is not suitable for drinking, and is classified as ‘residual waste’. Class II Injection Wells safely return this saltwater back into earth.

As part of the drilling and construction of an injection well, concentric runs of steel pipe (called a casing) are cemented to various depths designed to protect fresh groundwater and to isolate the injection formation.

Tubing is placed into the well just above the injection zone and a packer is inserted to create a watertight seal against the casing.  The packer prevents water from entering the space between the tubing and casing when water is injected down the tubing.

Several tests are then done to make sure the well is operating properly and the injection zone is isolated. The annular space between the injection tubing and the well casing is pressure monitored in real-time to ensure there are no leaks or cross-contamination.

Read more about Injection Wells here.

Our injection zone is located deep in the earth, in a sandstone formation. Sandstone is a rock that is porous enough to accept injected fluids. We chose our particular injection zones because they’re covered by shale, an impenetrable rock that acts as a cap to confine injected water to the porous sandstone layer. The injection zone contains naturally occurring fluids containing high concentrations of various salts.  These zones are called 'wet formations'.

After oil and gas are separated from the produced water at our clients’ production well, the water is trucked to the injection site. There, the water is transferred to holding tanks, filtered, and pumped into the Class II injection well.

Penneco Environmental Solutions’ injection wells are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure proper operation and to ensure mechanical integrity. Automated digital and redundant mechanical sensors monitor all essential parameters related to the well to ensure that operational characteristics remain within the permitted performance envelope. In addition, our wells are regularly inspected by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and state Departments of Environmental Protection.

Read more about the EPA’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program here.