A state-of-the-art review of scientific knowledge on the environmental risk of ocean discharge of produced water and advances in mitigation technologies. In offshore oil and gas operations, produced water (the water produced with oil or gas from a well) accounts for the largest waste stream (in terms of volume discharged). Its discharge is continuous during oil and gas production and typically increases in volume over the lifetime of an offshore production platform. Produced water discharge as waste into the ocean has become an environmental concern because of its potential contaminant content. Environmental risk assessments of ocean discharge of produced water have yielded different results. For example, several laboratory and field studies have shown that significant acute toxic effects cannot be detected beyond the "point of discharge" due to rapid dilution in the receiving waters. However, there is some preliminary evidence of chronic sub-lethal impacts in biota associated with the discharge of produced water from oil and gas fields within the North Sea. As the composition and concentration of potential produced water contaminants may vary from one geologic formation to another, this conference also highlights the results of recent studies in Atlantic Canada.

Fundamentals, Water Chemistry, Emulsions, Chemical Treatment

This book represents the proceedings of the first major international meeting dedi cated to discuss environmental aspects of produced water. The 1992 International Pro duced Water Symposium was held at the Catamaran Hotel, San Diego, California, USA, on February 4-7, 1992. The objectives of the conference were to provide a forum where scientists, regulators, industry, academia, and the enviromental community could gather to hear and discuss the latest information related to the environmental considerations of produced water discharges. It was also an objective to provide a forum for the peer review and international publication of the symposium papers so that they would have wide availability to all parties interested in produced water environmental issues. Produced water is the largest volume waste stream from oil and gas production activities. Onshore, well over 90% is reinjected to subsurface formations. Offshore, and in the coastal zone, most produced water is discharged to the ocean. Over the past several years there has been increasing concern from regulators and the environmental commu nity. There has been a quest for more information on the composition, treatment systems and chemicals, discharge characteristics, disposal options, and fate and effects of the produced water. As so often happens, much of this information exists in the forms of reports and internal research papers. This symposium and publication was intended to make this information available, both for open discussion at the conference, and for peer review before publication.

Of Filter Types P.148

This book outlines the technologies and techniques used in the oil & gas industry’s shift from treating produced water as a “waste stream” to an integrated water management approach. Produced water is formed underground and brought to the surface during oil & gas (O&G) production and exploration and production (E&P) operations. It is usually a complex mixture of inorganics and organics and contributes to the largest volume waste stream of O&G and E&P operations. Traditionally, produced water has been considered a waste and conventional management strategies include disposal (typically by injection into depleted wells or permitted disposal wells), recycling (direct reuse within the E&P operation) and reuse (treatment and reuse offsite for food crop irrigation, livestock watering or industrial use). The O&G industry is going through a paradigm shift where scarcity of water, economics of water management, declining oil costs, and increasing focus on environmental and ecological stewardship are shifting the focus toward integrated water management in E&P operations. Water is no longer a problem to be delegated to a third-party disposal or treatment vendor, but is becoming a cornerstone of O&G production. This is a summary of produced water characteristics, regulations and management options, produced water treatment fundamentals, and a detailed discussion of process equipment and advantages/disadvantages of currently available treatment processes. It provides a guide for selecting appropriate technologies for the desired application and points toward the optimization of current technologies and the use of combined treatment processes to meet reuse and discharge limits and critically, more stringent environmental regulations.

In some coalbeds, naturally occurring water pressure holds methane-the main component of natural gas-fixed to coal surfaces and within the coal. In a coalbed methane (CBM) well, pumping water from the coalbeds lowers this pressure, facilitating the release of methane from the coal for extraction and use as an energy source. Water pumped from coalbeds during this process-CBM 'produced water'-is managed through some combination of treatment, disposal, storage, or use, subject to compliance with federal and state regulations. CBM produced water management can be challenging for regulatory agencies, CBM well operators, water treatment companies, policy makers, landowners, and the public because of differences in the quality and quantity of produced water; available infrastructure; costs to treat, store, and transport produced water; and states' legal consideration of water and produced water. Some states consider produced water as waste, whereas others consider it a beneficial byproduct of methane production. Thus, although current technologies allow CBM produced water to be treated to any desired water quality, the majority of CBM produced water is presently being disposed of at least cost rather than put to beneficial use. This book specifically examines the Powder River, San Juan, Raton, Piceance, and Uinta CBM basins in the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The conclusions and recommendations identify gaps in data and information, potential beneficial uses of CBM produced water and associated costs, and challenges in the existing regulatory framework.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of the Produced Water Seminar held in Trondheim, Norway, in September 1995. Hosted by Statoil Research and Development and IKU Petroleum Research, the seminar was an update of the 1992 seminar of the same title held in San Diego, California (Ray and Engelhardt, 1992). Produced water remains the largest volume waste stream from oil and gas production offshore. In the North and Norwegian Seas, produced water volumes are projected to increase significantly over the coming decades, as oil reservoirs near depletion. These releases are therefore the focus of continuing environmental concern. The purpose of this seminar was to provide a forum for scientists, legislators, and industrial and environmental representatives to share recent information and research results, and to encourage cooperative pursuit of solutions in the future. The success of the seminar, and the quality of this volume, are due in large part to the many authors from around the world who presented almost 50 posters and papers focused on environmental issues and mitigation technologies. In addition, we wish to acknowledge the contributions of the local and international organizing committees. Local Committee Asbj0fg 0verli and Heidi Torp, Statoil Egil Wanvik and Laila S. Olden, IKU Petroleum Research International Committee James P. Ray, Shell Chemical and Petroleum Products Companies Alexis E. Steen, American Petroleum Institute Theodor C. Sauer, Battelle Ocean Sciences Steven A. Flynn, British Petroleum Martin C. Th. Scholten, TNO Kjell Lohne, Statoil Ingvild Martinsen, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority.