The ARID™ Aquifer Recharge Injection System was developed in order to solve the problems and costs associated with the surface discharge of CBM /CSNG produced water. This Aquifer Recharge Injection System has proven to satisfy the needs of CBM Operators, as well as landowners, environmentalists, and regulators as the safest and most cost effective method of removing water from a gas producing coal seam while at the same time saving the water in another aquifer all in the same well bore. ARID Aquifer Recharge Injection is now considered a "Best Practice" by CBM / CSNG gas producers that want to eliminate the cost and time associated with surface water discharge.

Please play the video and read further to see how the ARID System will help you elimiante your produced water issues:

The ARID System uses the existing well bore to move water from the target coal seam to a shallower depleted aquifer of similar water quality. This means the production CBM well also becomes an Aquifer Recharge Injection well. The produced water never leaves the well bore as it is redirected into perforations into different aquifer zones. These aquifers are identified by Big Cat Energy personnel from the geophysical logs that confirm the coal zones when the well is first drilled.

The hardware portion of the ARID Recharge System is a Mandrel plug which is set above the pumping fluid level of the well and below the receiving aquifer. A water tight well head is placed at the top of the well to trap the water between the Mandrel and the top of the well. Perforations are made into the well bore casing adjacent the receiving aquifer. A pump and water riser pipe are attached to the bottom of the Mandrel. When the pump is operating, the water is pushed through the Mandrel and passes through the perforations in the well bore into the receiving aquifer.

As hydraulic head decreases in the coal seam, gas desorbs from the coal seam into a void between the bottom of the Mandrel and the top of the pumping fluid level. A gas bypass port that extends through the Mandrel allows a gas riser pipe to be attached to the top of the Mandrel. This port allows the gas which is trapped between the Mandrel and the pumping fluid level to ascend up through the column of water and out through the water tight well head.

Testing has shown that aquifers are able to receive about 75 percent of the water that an aquifer will produce. For example, if water from the receiving aquifer could produce 100 gallons per minute (gpm), that same receiving aquifer has the potential to receive about 75 gpm. Note that the typical CBM well pumps an average of 12 gpm, but pumping rates can range from 0 gpm to 60 gpm.

Depending on the location of the CBM well, the ARID System is permitted by the DEQ or the EPA through an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit. The Wyoming DEQ anticipates that the turnaround time on a UIC permit application is approximately two to four weeks, and the EPA slightly longer.