Description of the Research Opportunity
Waters co-extracted with oil and gas in conventional and unconventional reservoirs—produced waters—represent the largest waste stream associated with the petroleum industry operations in the United States (U.S.). These waters commonly have high salinities, reaching up to ~350,000 mg/L of total dissolved solids (TDS) due to their association with basin scale evaporite mineral deposits. Recently, substantial economic, industrial, and government interest in using these oil and gas wastewaters as a resource for commodity minerals (Marza et al., 2024), e.g., lithium (Li), has refocused efforts toward understanding the geologic and geochemical mechanisms of their enrichment. A strong focus on Li, in particular, has led to re-examinations of its prevailing concentrations in brines derived from individual geologic basins, and the importance of reservoir porosity and permeability on its economic potential.
Significant focus has been applied toward understanding the sources of Li within brines derived from the Smackover Formation of Gulf of Mexico Basin (Knierim et al., 2024) and the Marcellus Shale of Appalachian Basin (Mackey et al., 2024), but comparatively little research has explored its concentrations, geologic sources, and the stratigraphic controls on its variability within the Paradox Basin of Colorado and Utah, or the Williston Basin of western North Dakota. Both basins have historically measured produced water Li concentrations considered economic (>100 mg/L) (Blondes et al., 2023). In this research opportunity, project proposals are solicited to apply produced water field sampling techniques, geochemistry, and basin stratigraphy towards understanding the variability and controls on Li and other mineral commodity resources in brines derived from oil and gas wastewaters in these two basins. Proposals that address the following are especially welcome:
- Lithium and produced water commodity budgets of Williston Basin brines. The Devonian-aged carbonate-evaporite successions of the Williston Basin were estimated to produce upwards of 400 billion gallons of produced water in 2017 (Haines et al., 2017). Lithium concentrations in Williston Basin brines, specifically of the Duperow and Birdbear Formations of western North Dakota, are known to reach ~200 mg/L (Bishop and Robbins, 2024), but their geologic origins remain enigmatic. This research opportunity proposes to sample basinal brines derived from the Williston Basin, establish the concentrations of commodity elements, including Li, and place them in geochemical and regional stratigraphic context.
- Lithium and produced water commodity budgets of Paradox Basin brines. The Paradox Basin covers ~85,000 km2 in eastern Utah and western Colorado, with formations including the Cambrian through Cretaceous-aged units, present in a number of hydrostratigraphic units (Kim et al., 2022). The basin is tectonically complex but has seen significant industry investment in Li brine prospecting in the northwestern portion of the Basin. This research opportunity proposes to sample basinal brines derived from the Paradox Basin, establish the concentrations of commodity elements, including Li, and place them in geochemical and regional stratigraphic context.
Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Research Advisor(s) early in the application process to discuss project ideas.
References
Bishop, B.A., Robbins, L.J., 2024. In Situ Water-Rock Interactions as the Source of Brine-Hosted Lithium: Implications for Developing a Deposit Model. GeoConvention Conference, Calgary, Alberta, CA.
Blondes, M.S., Knierim, K.J., Croke, M.R., Freeman, P.A., Doolan, C., Herzberg, A.S., Shelton,
J.L., 2023. U.S. Geological Survey National Produced Waters Geochemical Database (ver. 3.0, December 2023). https://doi.org/10.5066/P9DSRCZJ
Haines, S.S., Varela, B.A., Hawkins, S.J., Gianoutsos, N.J., Thamke, J.N., Engle, M.A., Tennyson, M.E., Schenk, C.J., Gaswirth, S.B., Marra, K.R., Kinney, S.A., Mercier, T.J., Martinez, C.D., 2017.
Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2016 (Fact Sheet No. 2017–3044), 2017-3044.
Kim, J. H., Bailey, L., Noyes, C., Tyne, R. L., Ballentine, C. J., Person, M., Ma, L., Barton, M., Barton, I., Reiners, P. W., Ferguson, G., & McIntosh, J. 2022. Hydrogeochemical evolution of formation waters responsible for sandstone bleaching and ore mineralization in the Paradox Basin, Colorado Plateau, USA. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 134(9–10), 2589–2610. https://doi.org/10.1130/B36078.1
Mackey, J., Bain, D.J., Lackey, G., Gardiner, J., Gulliver, D., Kutchko, B., 2024. Estimates of lithium mass yields from produced water sourced from the Devonian-aged Marcellus Shale. Scientific Reports 14, 8813.
Marza, M., Ferguson, G., Thorson, J., Barton, I., Kim, J.-H., Ma, L., McIntosh, J., 2024. Geological controls on lithium production from basinal brines across North America. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 257, 107383.
Proposed Duty Station(s)
Reston, Virginia
Areas of PhD
Geology or related fields (candidates holding a Ph.D. in other disciplines, but with extensive knowledge and skills relevant to the Research Opportunity may be considered).
Qualifications
Applicants must meet the following qualification: Research Geologist.
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)
