Biotreatment of Hydrate-Inhibitor-Containing Produced Waters at Low pH

SPE Journal ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (06) ◽  
pp. 1254-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Janson ◽  
Ana Santos ◽  
Altaf Hussain ◽  
Simon Judd ◽  
Ana Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ph Control ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Successful Operation ◽  
Gas Field

Summary With proper treatment to remove organics and inorganics, one can use the produced water (PW) generated during oil-and-gas extraction as process water. Biotreatment is generally regarded as the most cost-effective method for organics removal, and although widely used in industrial wastewater treatment, PW biotreatment installations are limited. This paper follows up to an earlier paper published in the SPE Journal (Janson et al. 2014). Although the earlier paper assessed the biotreatability of PW from a Qatari gas field from the summer season, this paper focuses on assessing the biotreatability of PW during the winter season [i.e., containing the thermodynamic hydrate inhibitor monoethylene glycol (MEG) and a kinetic hydrate inhibitor (KHI)]. Tests were conducted in batch and continuous reactors under aerobic mixed-culture conditions without pH control during 31 weeks. The results indicated that one could remove >80% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) through biological treatment of PW with 1.5% MEG added. In contrast, biotreatment can remove only ≈43% of COD and TOC present in PW when 1.5% KHI was added as a hydrate inhibitor; 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent in KHI, is extremely biodegradable; it was reduced in concentration from >5000 to <10 mg/L by biotreatment; the KHI polymer though was only partially biodegradable. Cloudpoint tests conducted on PW with 1.5% KHI added showed only an 8°C increase in cloudpoint temperature (from 35 to 43°C). The target cloudpoint temperature of >60°C was not achieved. Although the feed to the reactors (PW with either KHI or MEG) was at pH 4.5, the reactors stabilized at a pH of 2.6, considered extremely acidic for aerobic bioactivity. The successful operation of an aerobic biological process for an extended period of time at a pH of 2.6 was unexpected, and published reports of bioactivity at that pH are limited. After extensive analytical tests, it was concluded that the pH decrease was caused by the production of an inorganic acid. A mechanism by which hydrochloric acid could be produced biologically was proposed; however, further research in this area by the academic community is recommended.

Abandonment Best Practices in Unitised Area for Wells and Facilities Straddling Two Countries in Malay Basin: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Nathan ◽  
M Arif Iskandar Ghazali ◽  
M Zahin Abdul Razak ◽  
Ismanto Marsidi ◽  
Jamari M Shah
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Maintenance Cost ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Host Government ◽  
Cycle Oil

Abstract Abandonment is considered to be the last stage in the oil gas field cycle. Oil and gas industries around the world are bounded by the necessity of creating an abandonment program which is technically sound, complied to the stringent HSE requirement and to be cost-effective. Abandonment strategies were always planned as early as during the field development plan. When there are no remaining opportunities left or no commercially viable hydrocarbon is present, the field need to be abandoned to save operating and maintenance cost. The cost associated on abandonment can often be paid to the host government periodically and can be cost recoverable once the field is ready to be abandoned. In Malaysia, some of the oil producing fields are now in the late life of production thus abandonment strategies are being studied comprehensively. The interest of this paper is to share the case study of one of a field that is in its late life of production and has wells and facilities that planned to be abandon soon. The abandonment in this field is challenging because it involves two countries, as this field is in the hydrocarbon structure that straddling two countries. Series of techno-commercial discussion were held between operators of these two countries to gain an integrated understanding of the opportunity, defining a successful outcome of the opportunity and creating an aligned plan to achieve successful abandonment campaign. Thus, this paper will discuss on technical aspects of creating a caprock model, the execution strategies of abandoning the wells and facilities and economic analysis to study whether a joint campaign between the operators from two countries yields significantly lower costs or otherwise.

Polymeric membranes for produced water treatment: an overview of fouling behavior and its control

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subrata Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Fouling ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Polymeric Membrane ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Beneficial Uses ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
Membrane Treatment

AbstractProduced water (PW) from the oil/gas field is an important waste stream. Due to its highly pollutant nature and large volume of generation, the management of PW is a significant challenge for the petrochemical industry. The treatment of PW can improve the economic viability of oil and gas exploration, and the treated water can provide a new source of water in the water-scarce region for some beneficial uses. The reverse osmosis (RO) and selective nanofiltration (NF) membrane treatment of PW can reduce the salt and organic contents to acceptable levels for some beneficial uses, such as irrigation, and different industrial reuses. However, membrane fouling is a major obstacle for the membrane-based treatment of PW. In this review, the author discusses the polymeric membrane (mainly RO/NF) fouling during PW treatment. Membrane fouling mechanisms by various types of foulants, such as organic, inorganic, colloidal, and biological matters, are discussed. The review concludes with some of the measures to control fouling by membrane surface modification approaches.

Long Pile Upending Lifting Study for Fixed Platform on Offshore Oil and Gas Field

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yandong Zhou ◽  
Facheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Water Developments ◽  
Oil And Gas Field ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Oil

Fixed platform have been widely employed in the offshore oil and gas reservoirs development. Pile foundation reliability is critical for these platforms where drilling, production and other functions are integrated. The lifting operation for the long pile, being a key step in the jacket installation, has been considered for further developments. With deep water developments, the sizes and weights of long piles are reasonably bigger. The corresponding process and equipment employed are subsequently altered, which brings challenges to developing a cost-effective, easy-operable approach for lifting operation. In this paper, the technology for the offshore long pile upending lifting operation including pile feature, installation methodology, lifting rigging and analysis model, covering water depths ranging from shallow to near deep water zone (60–300 m water depth) has been suggested. In addition, the applicability of the adoptable novel approaches has been discussed considering the practical project experience.

scholarly journals Characterization and Treatment Technologies Applied for Produced Water in Qatar

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3573
Author(s):  
Hana D. Dawoud ◽  
Haleema Saleem ◽  
Nasser Abdullah Alnuaimi ◽  
Syed Javaid Zaidi
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Treatment Techniques ◽  
Treatment Technologies ◽  
Oil Gas

Qatar is one of the major natural gas (NG) producing countries, which has the world’s third-largest NG reserves besides the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Since the produced water (PW) generated in the oil and gas industry is considered as the largest waste stream, cost-effective PW management becomes fundamentally essential. The oil/gas industries in Qatar produce large amounts of PW daily, hence the key challenges facing these industries reducing the volume of PW injected in disposal wells by a level of 50% for ensuring the long-term sustainability of the reservoir. Moreover, it is important to study the characteristics of PW to determine the appropriate method to treat it and then use it for various applications such as irrigation, or dispose of it without harming the environment. This review paper targets to highlight the generation of PW in Qatar, as well as discuss the characteristics of chemical, physical, and biological treatment techniques in detail. These processes and methods discussed are not only applied by Qatari companies, but also by other companies associated or in collaboration with those in Qatar. Finally, case studies from different companies in Qatar and the challenges of treating the PW are discussed. From the different studies analyzed, various techniques as well as sequencing of different techniques were noted to be employed for the effective treatment of PW.

scholarly journals Methodological recommendations on safety decision making for offshore oil & gas platforms

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (394) ◽  
pp. 147-157
Author(s):  
Nikolay A. Valdman ◽  
Nina L. Malyarenko
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Safe Operation ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Management Standards ◽  
Offshore Oil And Gas ◽  
Offshore Oil ◽  
Oil Gas

Object and purpose of research. This paper discusses offshore oil & gas platforms as complex social and technical systems. The purpose is to consider the results of the research on development of recommendations aimed at improving the methodological apparatus for making management decisions to insure the offshore oil & gas field structures safety operations. Materials and methods. This work followed common methods of theoretical studies and was based on KSRC guidelines, risk management standards, as well as relevant publications, both Russian and foreign. Main results. Existing methodological recommendations on safety decision-making for offshore oil and gas facilities were systematized. The task of describing the implementation of decision-making methodology intended to ensure safe operation of offshore facilities and their equipment has been successfully accomplished. Conclusion. Methodological recommendations on decision making suggested in this paper with reference to the operation of offshore oil and gas facilities are intended to improve their safety, as well as to prevent or mitigate their possible accidents (failures) and justify the choice of optimal cost-effective solutions.

Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with Macro Porous Polymer Extraction technology to reduce toxicity and allow water reuse

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dick Meijer ◽  
Chris Madin
Keyword(s):  
Water Reuse ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Porous Polymer ◽  
Extraction Technology ◽  
The North

Legislation worldwide and current technologies used in the treatment of offshore oil and gas/condensate produced water are mainly aimed at the removal of dispersed hydrocarbons (dispersed oil). From the beginning of this century, new insights in the North Sea area revealed that specific contaminants in produced water are toxic and their impact on the environment was assessed. This insight was later supported by work in the Philippines. A comparison of water with the same total organic carbon (TOC) levels showed in one case that the unknown toxic content was higher with an unexpected disastrous effect on the biocultures. Overall parameters like biological, chemical and total oxygen demand (BOD, COD and TOC) are of no value in identifying and managing the toxic content of waste and produced water streams. New extraction based technologies such as the Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) technology appear to remove dispersed and dissolved toxic constituents and reduce the environmental impact. Industrial applications show a >99% toxic content reduction in produced water streams. A recent application (at Woodside Petroleum’s Pluto LNG project) is described where the ultimate reuse of produced water was as demineralised water in an LNG plant. Emerging potential is presented for floating LNG plants currently investigated in conceptual studies by the oil and gas industry. Finally, fundamental technological mechanisms are presented that are required to meet zero harmful discharge legislation.

Demonstrating good practice in the safe operation of gas assets with predictive analytics

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 437
Author(s):  
Hennie Engelbrecht ◽  
Nesa Abbaspour
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Predictive Analytics ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Internal Corrosion ◽  
Maintenance And Inspection ◽  
Inspection Data ◽  
Maintenance Schedules

The oil and gas industry operates large and complex facilities. Technical integrity (and thus licence to operate) must be maintained through routine inspection and maintenance regimes. Corrosion attacks every component at every stage in the life of every oil and gas field or plant (Schlumberger 1994). Globally, corrosion management accounts for US2.5Tr cross-industry spend (NACE International 2016). Risk-based approaches for internal corrosion based on susceptibility of a process item to corrode, have been utilised to assist with identifying appropriate and more cost-effective maintenance and inspection strategies. The aim of such approaches is to protect integrity and not compromise safety; however, they do nothing to minimise regret cost. These approaches use only known physical characteristics of piping equipment and rely on repeat inspection data to calculate corrosion rates and associated maintenance schedules. The present paper will leverage the challenges and shortcomings of using existing risk-based inspection (RBI) approaches and demonstrate how Accenture in collaboration with Woodside and others is utilising predictive analytics to more accurately determine likelihood of corrosion to exist in a more granular resolution, thus managing likelihood and consequence of corrosion to produce an improved risk-based model. The analytics model considers physical, geospatial and external factors for external corrosion. This is a work in progress, with very promising initial results, that leads into the implementation of an improved RBI strategy, enabling Woodside to reduce inspection scope, physical site activity and associated management cost. In addition, it better manages plant risk in conjunction with smart visualisation tools.

scholarly journals Treatment of High-Concentration Wastewater from an Oil and Gas Field via a Paired Sequencing Batch and Ceramic Membrane Reactor

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1953
Author(s):  
Yuan Wei ◽  
Yue Jin ◽  
Wenjie Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ceramic Membrane ◽  
Batch Reactor ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Microbiological Analysis ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Oil And Gas Field ◽  
Ceramic Membrane Reactor

A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and a ceramic membrane bioreactor (CMBR) were used in conjunction (SBR+CMBR) to treat high-concentration oil and gas field wastewater (HCOGW) from the China National Offshore Oil Corporation Zhanjiang Branch (Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the oil concentrations in the wastewater were 20,000–76,000 and 600–2200 mg/L, respectively. After the SBR+CMBR process, the effluent COD and oil content values were less than 250 mg/L and 2 mg/L, respectively, which met the third level of the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standards of China (GB8978-1996). Through microbiological analysis, it was found that the CMBR domesticated a previously unreported functional microorganism (JF922467.1) that successfully formed a new microbial ecosystem suitable for HCOGW treatment. In conjunction with the SBR process, the CMBR process effectively reduced pollutant concentrations in HCOGW. Moreover, economic analyses indicated that the total investment required to implement the proposed infrastructure would be approximately 671,776.61 USD, and the per-unit water treatment cost would be 1.04 USD/m3.

Water treatment technology for produced water

2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 2372-2380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angéla Szép ◽  
Robert Kohlheb
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Mobile Station ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Treatment Technology ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Produced Waters ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Large amounts of produced water are generated during oil and gas production. Produced water, as it is known in the oil industry, is briny fluid trapped in the rock of oil reservoirs. The objective of this study was to test produced waters from a Montana USA oilfield using a mobile station to design a plant to cost efficiently treat the produced water for agricultural irrigation. We used combined physical and chemical treatment of produced water in order to comply with reuse and discharge limits. This mobile station consists of three stages: pretreatments, membrane filtration and post treatment. Two spiral-wound membrane units were employed and the rejections of various constituents were examined. The performance of two membranes, 20 kDa weight cut-off (MWCO) ultrafiltration and a polyamide-composite reverse osmosis membrane was investigated. The mobile station effectively decreased conductivity by 98%, COD by 100% and the SAR by 2.15 mgeqv0.5 in the produced water tested in this study. Cost analysis showed that the treatment cost of produced water is less expensive than to dispose of it by injection and this treated water may be of great value in water-poor regions. We can conclude that the mobile station provided a viable and cost-effective result to beneficial use of produced water.

The Viability of Composite Membrane in Treating Produced Water from Oil and Gas Field in Malaysia

2014 ◽  
Vol 598 ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Munawar Zaman Shahruddin ◽  
Azizal Adnan ◽  
Tengku Amran Tengku Mohd ◽  
Nur Hashimah Alias ◽  
Nurul Aimi Ghazali
Keyword(s):  
Composite Membrane ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Vinyl Pyrrolidone ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Membrane Performance ◽  
Oil And Gas Field ◽  
Poly Vinyl Pyrrolidone

As the oil and gas industry grows rapidly worldwide over the years, the production of produced water is also increasing. Million barrels of water are produced each day worldwide. This situation has become a major problem and a to the environment and ecosystem. Produced water contains many constituents such as dispersed oil, metals and chemicals that have a high toxicity and very harmful to the marine life. Therefore, it must be treated prior disposal to the environment or reinjection into the well and formation. There are many methods of treatments such as liquid-liquid hydrocyclone, floatation technology and membrane technology. Membrane technology is quite a new technology for the treatment of produced water in oil and gas industry. This paper is focused on the viability of using composite membranes which are Polysulfone (PSU), Polysulfone-bentonite (PSU-bentonite), PSU-PVP (Polysulfone-Poly vinyl pyrrolidone) and Polysulfone-Poly vinyl pyrrolidone-bentonite (PSU-PVP-bentonite) for the treatment of produced water. The objectives of this study are; 1) to characterize the produced water, 2) to prepare and cast the composite membrane and 3) to investigate the membrane performance in treating the produced water. The performance of the composite membrane were tested by using the produced water as wastewater feed and the best composite membrane is determined by the membrane performance. In the membrane preparation process, a method have been used namely phase inversion method. This research found that technically composite membrane have a good potential to be used in treating produced water from Malaysian oil and gas field. Thus, further technical and economic study on this treatment method is suggested for industrial scale application.

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