Dilution and Bioavailability of Produced Water Compounds in the Northern North Sea. A Combined Modeling and Field Study

Abstract

A combined field and modeling study addressing the dilution and spreading of produced water originating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) has been carried out in the Tampen region, located in the Norwegian sector of the Northern North Sea. Sampling sites were identified in the region and located in positions near production platforms and in open sea. The station network was designed to cover areas in open sea. The station network was designed to cover areas in open sea. The station network was designed to cover areas expected to have elevated levels of production platforms and in open sea. The station network was designed to cover areas expected to have elevated levels of produced water originating PAH as well as areas not influenced by these discharges, based on dilution modeling of produced water discharge data for the Norwegian and British sectors. Five different sampling techniques were applied in this study. These were deployment of blue mussels and semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) along with direct water sampling for solvent and solid phase extraction and in situ large volume water sampling. Using these results obtained with these techniques, the water concentrations of two selected PAH were compared to regional concentration fields from dilution modeling of produced water discharges from all platforms in the area (Norwegian and British sectors). The results showed that increased levels of PAH in the water phase could be found as far away as 10 km form the nearest discharge source. The agreement between the observed PAH levels and the corresponding levels suggested by the model were very good for the two components included in the present study. As could be expected, the model failed to detect local effects close to the discharge point, when the model was operating on a regional scale.

Development of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) exposed to produced water during early life stages: Effects on embryos, larvae, and juvenile fish

“…Field studies conducted with fish, mussels, and passive samplers in cages have shown that it is possible to detect an increased uptake of PAHs and APs up to several kilometres from the platform Durell et al, 2006;Johnsen and Røe, 1998;Tollefsen et al, 2005;Harman et al, 2009). Biomarker analyses have also shown that fish held in cages close to the PW discharge outlet show a small but detectable induction of Vtg and CYP1A (King et al, 2005;Scott et al, 2006a;Zhu et al, 2008).…”

Oil well produced water discharges to the North Sea. Part I: Comparison of deployed mussels (Mytilus edulis), semi-permeable membrane devices, and the DREAM model predictions to estimate the dispersion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

“…Several studies have been performed to monitor and model the fate and effects of produced water discharges to the Norwegian sector of the North Sea (Durell et al, 2000(Durell et al, , 2004Johnsen et al, 1998;Neff et al, 2006;. These studies were designed partly to serve as baseline studies for future monitoring programs, and partly to evaluate, optimize, and implement different sampling, monitoring, and assessment techniques.…”

“…The paper is not intended to in detail describe the sampling techniques used to generate the field-based data, or discuss the merits and drawbacks of those methods (such information has been presented in other papers by these and other authors). The data from two field studies are described in this paper: a survey in the Tampen Region in 1997 (Johnsen et al, 1998; and one in the Ekofisk Region in 1999 (Durell et al, 2000). A companion paper (Neff et al, 2006) compares the ecological risk predicted based on these field measurements to risk predicted using DREAM.…”

“…Durell et al / Marine Environmental Research 62 (2006) 194-223 A variety of field samples, including bulk water grab samples, field-processed solidphase extracted water samples, in situ large-volume water samples, plankton, mussel, and SPMD samples, were collected for evaluation purposes and to meet different data objectives (Durell et al, 2000;Johnsen et al, 1998;. The rapid dilution of the produced water following discharged to the North Sea results in near-background levels within a short distance of the discharge, and ultra-sensitive sampling techniques are required to detect the contaminants.…”

Oil well produced water discharges to the North Sea. Part II: Comparison of deployed mussels (Mytilus edulis) and the DREAM model to predict ecological risk

“…The results of this study served as the basis for developing the official Norwegian strategy for monitoring ecological risks of produced water discharges from offshore production facilities to water column communities. The results of the Tampen monitoring study have been summarized in several papers (Johnsen et al, 1998;. Durell et al (2004) and Durell et al (2000) described the field monitoring programs and summarized the results of the Ekofisk monitoring study.…”