Recover, reuse

Because we take our environmental responsibilties seriously, we recover about 50% of the frac’ing fluid at the wellhead and reuse 80% of that liquid. We expect to reach 90 to 100% in future operations.

Fracturing a shale formation requires between around 12,000 m³ of water per well — less than is needed to maintain a golf course for one month. The amount of water used to drill 200 horizontal wells adds up to just 1% of the 500 million cubic meters of water used annually by the pulp and paper industry. That’s 100 times less.

The water we use to fracture shale is not potable. It is taken directly from watercourses, subject to approval from Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP). We respect current regulations and water advisories which stipulate that the amount of water taken be limited to 20% or less of average summer low flow to avoid water level fluctuations and protect aquatic ecosystems and other uses.

To learn more about our environmental record, click here