Treatment

A project spearheaded by Exxon­Mobil, Shell, Chevron, and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been established to advance separation technology through improved testing methods and collaboration between users and suppliers. The simplest way to measure return on investment for an offshore water treatment system is to determine whether using the system actually reduces the risk of paying a fine for violating water pollution laws.

In the complete paper, three stages of review have been combined to find out the applicability of the most-feasible improved-oil-recovery (IOR) methods in North American unconventional reservoirs. The US Energy Information Agency reports that the country is seeing petroleum exports rise across the board and notes serveral drivers for this trend. This paper describes functional water-treatment steps that target the most common removal of suspended solids and oil or condensate from Produced-water (PW) and flowback-water (FW) for recycling or disposal operations.

In this study, a pilot plant with a capacity of 50 m3/d was used to conduct flotation, filtration, and adsorption trials for produced-water treatment at a crude-oil gathering facility. The number of offshore facilities employing waterflooding with desalination continues to grow. Currently, more than 50 sulfate removal units are in operation offshore with a total capacity of approximately 8 million BWPD.

Water treatment systems in the North Sea differ from those in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This paper provides a detailed understanding of these differences and provides insight into the design of water-treatment systems in general. In this study, a pilot plant with a capacity of 50 m3/d was used to conduct flotation, filtration, and adsorption trials for produced-water treatment at a crude-oil gathering facility. A recent webinar covered the varieties of current technology for flotation equipment and provided an in-depth look into flotation technology and the options surrounding offshore applications. The author reviews advances in produced water treatment, particularly offshore, since the 1960s.

Water treatment systems in the North Sea differ from those in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This paper provides a detailed understanding of these differences and provides insight into the design of water-treatment systems in general. A recent webinar focused on hydrocyclones and their application for offshore oil and water separation. The discussion includes fundamental science, practical considerations, implementation and field experience. The author reviews advances in produced water treatment, particularly offshore, since the 1960s.

The well count and completion intensity of US tight oil and gas operations have grown in recent years, and rising pressure from environmental regulations means that produced water management has become a key focus for operators. While storage and logistics are critical elements of the viability of water reuse, if the water chemistry is not fit for gel fracturing formulations, it will not matter how much is stored in centrally located impoundments. This paper reports on performance of an advanced MVR system in north-central Texas. With inconsistent inlet water quality being the rule rather than the exception, sizing and operational considerations of the treatment system components must vary accordingly to make the most economic sense. The demands for the fresh water used in many hydraulic fracturing operations are placing pressure on water sources in some regions of the United States.

While storage and logistics are critical elements of the viability of water reuse, if the water chemistry is not fit for gel fracturing formulations, it will not matter how much is stored in centrally located impoundments. A recent webinar discussed current technologies to enable reuse of produced water in gas and oil shale developments.

Many oil and gas companies are pursuing fracture-flowback-water and produced-water recycling for subsequent drilling and fracturing operations. Removal of metals is important to success of these processes. This is the third article of a series on water management for hydraulic fracturing in unconventional resources. This month, water treatment technologies are introduced, beginning with the removal of suspended solids by coagulation/flocculation and electrocoagulation for recycling flowback fluids.

Enhanced oil recovery processes, particularly offshore, create challenges for produced water treatment. Higher oil prices has created increased interest in chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) using polymers, surfactants, and alkalis. This technology poses some special challenges, especially around water treatment.

Polymer flooding in sensitive areas can require the transport of polymer fluids over long distances. Conventional wisdom limits transport distance or degradation occurs. This paper argues that critical velocity, not distance, is the controlling factor. Polymer flooding has been used to enhance the production of oil from mature fields in Oman. This article discusses the trial of several approaches to improve the treatment of water produced from these fields.