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Produced Water Overview
Published in Olayinka I. Ogunsola, Isaac K. Gamwo, Solid–Liquid Separation Technologies, 2022
The processes of oil and gas exploration and production involve both the demand for and the supply of water. Fresh groundwater is generally part of the process to drill oil and gas wells and is used to cool the drill bit as it cuts into rock, and to carry to the surface the drill cuttings. After the well is drilled, constructed, completed, and finally put on production, the fluids that are produced comprise oil, natural gas, and water, hence the term “produced water”. These three fluids together are constrained in the pore space of the rock in the geologic formation so when one is produced all three are produced. At the surface, this multiphase fluid stream is separated into these three components and each is dealt with separately. In general, separation begins with the density differences between these fluids: the natural gas at the top is taken by pipeline to a natural gas processing plant and then to market, and the oil taken from the middle is taken by pipeline directly to market. The water taken from the bottom of the separation vessel, however, does not have an established market and so must be dealt with as a cost of doing business.
Implications of Sampling and Chemistry
Published in Richard B. Eckert, Torben Lund Skovhus, Failure Analysis of Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion, 2021
Kelly A. Hawboldt, Christina S. Bottaro, Abdulhaqq Ibrahim, Mahsan Basafa, Angham Saeed
Produced water is the aqueous phase produced with the oil and/or gas phases and may be formation water (water present in the pores of hydrocarbon-producing rock layers) or a combination of seawater and formation water, depending on the production scheme. Produced water is a complex mixture of dissolved gases, solids, and organic and inorganic compounds. Produced water is predominantly made up of dissolved organics (including hydrocarbons), minerals, and gases (O2, CO2, H2S; suspended oil (nonpolar); suspended solids (corrosion products, scale, sand, silt, etc.(; traces of heavy metals; production chemicals (treating chemicals, kill fluids, acids, etc.); and bacteriological matter (Juniel, 2003) The inorganic constituents that have been measured in produced water are summarized in Table 23.1.
Health, Safety and Environment
Published in Sukumar Laik, Offshore Petroleum Drilling and Production, 2018
Produced water virtually always contains impurities, and if present in sufficient concentrations, these impurities can adversely impact the environment. These impurities include dissolved solids (primarily salt and heavy metals), suspended and dissolved organic materials, formation solids, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide and have a deficiency of oxygen. Produced water may also contain low levels of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). In addition to naturally occurring impurities, chemical additives like coagulants, corrosion inhibitors, emulsion breakers, biocides, dispersants, paraffin control agents and scale inhibitors are often added to alter the chemistry of produced water. Water produced from waterflood projects may also contain acids, oxygen scavengers, surfactants, friction reducers and scale dissolvers that were initially injected into the formation.
Synthesis and optimization of bentonite enforced poly (acrylamide/co- sodium dodecylbenzensulfonate) preformed particle gels for conformance control in high salinity reservoirs
Published in Petroleum Science and Technology, 2023
Seth Agrippa Oppong, Milan Mandal, Keka Ojha
High production of unwanted water in oil fields has undoubtedly become one of the major concerns which have plagued the oil and gas industry for several decades (Tongwa and Baojun 2015; Tongwa and Bai 2014). Excess water production can be caused by various factors, including water conning, non-uniform bottom or edge water movement, early breakthrough of injected water through channels and highly permeability streaks under water flooding (Tongwa and Baojun 2015; Imqam, Wang, and Bai 2017; Fakher et al. 2017; Seright, Lane, and Sydansk 2001; Seright 2004). Also, long term water flooding can cause mineral dissolution, leading to seepage channels or cracks, specifically in heterogeneous reservoir; this in turn results in excess water production (Elsharafi and Bai 2016; Yang et al. 2020). This production of unwanted or excess water, when left unchecked, can cause significant environmental problems and affect the oil production rate, which may ultimately lead to early desertion of well that is still likely to contain a substantial volume of hydrocarbons (Alhuraishawy, Wei, et al. 2018; Taha and Amani 2019; Reza et al. 2016; Elsharafi and Bai 2016). The costs of lifting, treating, and disposal of large quantities of produced water, increased corrosion rates, and scale formations are major problems associated with water production, which decrease the well's economic life and increases the expenses of the oil and gas project (Taha and Amani 2019; Rui et al. 2017). To resolve these challenges, researchers/engineers must contrive innovative approaches to reduce excess water production.
Obtaining a stable olefin-based drilling fluid using non-treated produced water
Published in Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology, 2023
Rafaelly Lira Cavalcanti Lima, Dennys Correia da Silva, Alcides de Oliveira Wanderley Neto, Pedro Tupã Pandava Aum, Tereza Neuma de Castro Dantas
A strong effort is being made not only to avoid the discharge of produced water but also to reduce any use of freshwater. The research for solutions of uses outside the oil and gas industry includes irrigation,[5] agriculture, electrical power industry, livestock, and wildlife watering.[6] Inside the petroleum industry, the main application is reinjection or underground disposal. Although, some solutions for produced water reuse and disposal are also found in the direction of using the produced water in the well operations.[7] Several works[8,9] have reported success cases where the produced water is reused for stimulation operations. From an economic aspect, Dodd, Donaldson, and Harvey[10] conclude in their study that the use of produced water for application in the fracturing fluid formulation is being enabled by advancements in mechanical and chemical treatment techniques once are available new chemical formulations resistant to the high contents of salt and residual oil presents in produced water. In their paper, authors made an economic analysis to compare the cost-effectiveness of using fresh water to the cost of using produced water. According to the scenarios studied, it makes economic sense to reuse produced water to produce the fracturing fluids.[11]
Enlargement of oil droplets by using asymmetric structure of polyvinylidene fluoride membranes
Published in Chemical Engineering Communications, 2021
Chel-Ken Chiam, Azierah Ramlee, Rosalam Sarbatly
Alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding technology is economically attractive to improve the oil recovery especially from the geologically challenging reservoirs (Olajire 2014). One of the drawbacks of ASP is the management of the produced water which containing the tough emulsions due to the combination of the chemicals (Deng et al. 2002a; Guo et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2006). Discharging the produced water directly into the environment can cause serious pollutions. The conventional treatment systems in the existing oilfields include cyclones, floatation tanks, settling tanks, and coalescers (Deng et al. 2002b; Fakhru’l-Razi et al. 2009). These treatment systems have been mostly adopted for water and polymer flooding produced water, and do not fully meet the requirement for the produced water from the oilfields (Deng et al. 2005). The conventional treatment systems are less efficient to treat the produced water especially that contained the oil droplets with sizes less than 20 μm and with low concentration (Yi et al. 2011). Various demulsifiers have been used to treat the ASP produced water (Deng et al. 2005; Ge et al. 2010); however the excess demulsifiers will create a secondary wastewater. Up to date, although the ASP technology has been developed since three decades ago (Alvarado and Manrique 2010), the researches on the more sustainable treatment methods for ASP produced water are still limited.