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A feasibility study and subsequent equipment prototype design work completed by the Centre for Frontier Engineering Research have led to the development of some novel downhole oil/water separator systems for improving the economics and recovery of oil from cgnventional and heavy oil reservoirs. The basic concepts and driving forces behind the systems that have been developed a based on several ideas and technologies which were brought together with the objective of producing a lower cost altpmative for handling production and reinjection of water from maturing, high water oil ratio (WOR) reservoirs.These systems are currently in the prototype development phase in preparation for field testing. The downhole oil/water separation systems have the potential to achieve large, perhaps order of magnitude, savings in lifting costs through significant reductions in the volume of water that must be produced to surface. In most cases, these cost reductions would be accompanied by increased revenue. through reactiva-tion or increased production from wells that are currently shut-in or constrained by the limits of the current lifting system or sur-face facilities. Other potential benefits include reduced exposure to environmental liability from high volume water spills or cont-amination of fresh water aquifers. The main requirement for application of these systems is that a suitable water disposal zone be accessible from the producing wells. Introduction Numerous conventional oil wells, especially in North America and Southeast Asia, are becoming less econoi-nic due to high lift-ing costs and reduced recoveries. Much of the cost increase is ill managing the ever increasing volumes of water that must be lifted to surface, separated, treated, pipelined and reinjected back into the formations. Meanwhile ultimate recoveries are being eroded by shutting off production from specific reservoir zones through recompletions to reduce water inflow and bv the eventual early abandonment of wells which leaves itiuch of the original oil in place. The downhote separation project was initiated to help oper-ators keep wells on production longer, econ(iiiiically producin(, inore oil from existing mature reservoirs.

Water is the most significant GHG, yet climate modelers appear to have ignored human activities that directly add to the concentration of water vapour in the atmosphere. Concentrated water emissions from irrigation, industrial cooling, power generation and hydroelectric reservoirs, add large amounts of water and energy to the atmosphere in dry, and/or heavily populated regions, and this water must come out as precipitation in cooler regions. The magnitude of these emissions is significant, and is estimated to be 4-5 Tt/yr, which is a 4-5% increase in land/atmosphere water flux, over the last century. Evaporating this volume of water requires an incremental 9,000+ ExaJoules/yr, and is all emitted from less than 1% of the earth's surface, mainly in the northern hemisphere. Reduced river flows, and reduced fresh water flow to ocean areas, should be a factor in warming of southern ocean areas, while also causing increased precipitation in cold northern areas. Engineers should be working to mitigate the potential climate impacts of water emissions through increased energy efficiency, and avoiding water emissions from industrial and agricultural operations.