Optimal Options for Treatment of Produced Water in Offshore Petroleum Platforms

Abstract

During Petroleum exploration, water, which is trapped in underground formations, is brought to the surface along with oil or gas. This water, referred to as Produced water, has constituents that make it unsafe to be discharged into the environment without adequate treatment. In offshore locations, the situation is even more difficult since there is always limited space for produced water treatment. The treatment of Produced water will not only provide water for use but will protect our environment against pollution. This paper has reviewed exhaustively the various ways of handling produced water on the basis of its constituents, expected use of the effluent fluid, adherence to the local regulations on environmental protection, available expertise, and cost of its treatment. Furthermore, the paper has selected some key produced water treatment techniques, discussed their advantages as well as limitations to enable oil and gas operators to make informed decision depending on the circumstances surrounding their operations.

Suitability of water treatment chemicals in the remediation of produced water: a data-driven approach

“…For instance, thermal treatment technologies such as hybrid multi-effect distillation-vapour compression (MED-VCD) have a capital cost ranging from $250-$360 per bpd, operating cost and total unit costs of ~ $0.12/bbl and $0.19/bbl, respectively (Igunnu and Chen 2014). Igwe et al (2013) examined the factors and methods for handling wastes stating; "from practical experience, the feasibility of choosing a particular disposal system is usually dependent on cost contributing factors (such as transportation, treatment and development of disposal site) as well as environmental regulations. Some of the techniques being currently used are disposal to surface water; disposal to sewer; re-injection into the reservoir (through injection well); discharge to evaporation pond; spray evaporation and application of zero liquid discharge".…”

Challenges in Harmonized Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

“…Despite these differences, the whole Adriatic-Ionian basin suffers from pollution of marine and coastal environment due to human activities such as the exploitation of various resources, agriculture (land runoff), urban development in the coastal area and activities related to maritime transport (harbor activities, ballast water management etc.). In particular, heavy metal pollution in ADRION Region originates from sources such as land mining activities, like mercury mine of Idrija, Slovenia (Horvat et al, 2014;Gallmetzer et al, 2017), metallurgic industries, like Taranto industrial plants (Di Leo et al, 2013), oil refinery plants (Cukrov et al, 2011;Traven et al, 2015), old-type chlor-alkali plants (Mikac et al, 2006;Kljaković-Gašpić et al, 2006;Acquavita et al, 2012), municipal-sewage outflows (Cozzi et al, 2008;Cukrov et al, 2011;Joksimovic et al, 2020), harbors (container terminals, Cukrov et al, 2011), cruise tourism (Carić and Mackelworth, 2014;Joksimovic et al, 2019), by means of produced water discharge in offshore oil and gas extraction plants (Igwe et al, 2013). The presence of metals in the coastal environment of the Adriatic-Ionian basin is also due to natural, geogenic sources: the metals contained in the eroded rocky material are transported through rivers, as observed, for example, in the case of nickel in Koper Bay, Slovenia (Rogan Šmuc et al, 2018), or in the case of chromium and nickel in the lagoon area of Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece (Vasileiadou et al, 2016).…”

“…For such a scope, information on sampling procedures, analytical methodologies and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures were collected for a list of selected pollutants in water, sediment and biota, by a questionnaire submitted to the project partners, located in 6 countries bordering the ADRION Region (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece). Among the various contaminants selected for the investigation, heavy metals represent a group of particular importance, considering their introduction into the environment from widespread sources, such as atmospheric fall out, riverine input and point sources pollution from coastal cities and industrial plants (Gallmetzer et al, 2017;Joksimovic et al, 2020;Cukrov et al, 2011;Igwe et al, 2013). In fact the Directive 2013/39/EU, 2013 and amended Directive 2008/105/EC, 2008and Directive 2000/60/Ec (2000, imposed environmental quality standards (EQS -the concentration of a contaminant that should not be exceeded to protect human health and environment) for cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and their compounds in water.…”

Effect of Thermodynamic Parameters on the Concentration of Pollutants in Produced Water from Crude Oil Production

“…These chemicals, individually or collectively, could have significant impact on the environment. Some of the impacts include disruption of physiological and behavioural activities of the aquatic life, bioaccumulation, and deterioration of physical environment [18]. The major constituents of concern in produced water are the salt content (often expressed as salinity, conductivity, or total dissolved solids [TDS]), oil and grease (which could be found in the form of free oil, dispersed oil or dissolved oil), inorganic and organic toxic compounds (which may have been introduced through production chemicals or by leaching of formation rock or hydrocarbon) and naturally occurring radioactive materials.…”