HOUSTON, June 15 (UPI) -- There may be a pervasive drought in Texas but it will do little to curb activity in the Eagle Ford shale gas deposit in the state, an operator said.
U.S. drought monitors put 94 percent of Texas in some state of drought as of June 7. The National Weather Service predicts precipitation amounts will remain less than average for much of the month.
David Porter, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, which provides state information about energy activity, said water is a concern in his state.
"Water is a problem in South Texas," he told the Platts news service. "It always has been and with the drought it will continue to be."
He added that his commission was working to set up a water recycling program for companies working in the Eagle Ford shale play.
One well in the Eagle Ford deposit requires 13 million gallons of water as part of its hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, fluid.
Porter said the pilot project would recycle the water used in drilling shale gas deposits.
Richard Wheatley, a spokesman for producer and pipeline company El Paso Corp., said his company was getting water from area ranchers and its own wells.
"We have not experienced any problems obtaining water," he said.
