New Water-Treatment Technologies Tackle Offshore Produced-Water Challenges in EOR

Abstract

The treatment of produced water can be challenging due to variability in both quality and quantity of the produced-water stream. Produced-water quality is dependent on the dynamics and constituents in the oil reservoir, including added injection chemicals and waterflood injection quality. As a consequence of the wide range of variability in both the produced-water quality and the final treated-water quality requirements, it is not easy to determine which technologies are most appropriate for effective treatment and handling—there is no "one size fits all" solution. Varying environmental and regulatory requirements for produced-water treatment as a function of region and location contribute added complexity in decision making. Finding the "best" treatment solution and wading through the multitude of emerging produced-water treatment technologies have become significant challenges for the upstream oil and gas industry.