đź’§ A Day at the Water Hub: Moving Water, Meeting Demand
Working at Shell’s water hub means I spend my days keeping a steady stream of water flowing to frac sites—literally. It’s not the kind of work that shows up in movies, but it’s critical and has just enough complexity to keep it interesting.
Our job is to deliver water via underground pipeline infrastructure to frac sites using Shell's equipment. These frac sites can be up to 30 KM away or more.
That’s a lot of pipe and a lot of pressure—up to 8000 kPa (about 1160 psi), depending on the demand and terrain. The pipeline is good for even more than that!
🔩 Vast underground pipeline Infrastructure.
đź’Ą Pressures? Up to 8000 kPa (1160 psi).
đź’§ Liquid FR injected to reduce friction & meet site demand.
🧠Everything is controlled through HMI systems.
To help manage that pressure and meet the high water consumption rates on site, we inject Liquid FR (Friction Reducer) into the pipeline with the water. It helps smooth out the flow, drop the pressure, and increase our rates—kind of like giving the water a helping hand so it can move faster and more efficiently.
We run everything through an HMI (Human-Machine Interface) system, which gives us a live view of the entire setup—pressures, flow rates, pump status, the whole deal. It lets us make real-time adjustments, respond to changing site demands, and keep things dialled in without having to leave the control office. It’s a solid setup that helps us stay sharp, safe, and ahead of the game, especially when things ramp up on site.
There’s definitely a hands-on, problem-solving side to the work, too—coordinating with frac crews, watching how the system responds, and adapting on the fly when needed. You get to know the rhythm of it. Hitting your targets, seeing the system respond just right—those small wins go a long way in a day.
I work with a great team, and the culture here really emphasizes doing the job well and doing it safely. No shortcuts, no guesswork—just solid, professional work that keeps the whole operation humming.
👷‍♂️ The crew? Top-notch.
đź”’ The culture? Safety-first.
🏞️ The perks? Being outside (most days) and working with high-performance systems.
It’s a good gig. I get to be outside (most days), work with high-performance equipment, and solve problems with a great group of people. And while I wouldn’t say water delivery is the center of my universe, I do take pride in being part of something that supports these big projects in a reliable, professional way.
"Because when things are flowing smoothly, you know you’ve done your job right!"
