There's No 'Silver Bullet' With Produced Water

Published on by in Academic

There's No 'Silver Bullet' With Produced Water

To provide some idea of the magnitude of water involved, the Produced Water Society – citing 2012 data – has reported an average ratio of 9.2 barrels of produced water per barrel of oil for wells in 21 states in the U.S. (excluding Oklahoma and Texas).

by  Matthew V. Veazey|

YosRTCu.png
Mobile tech supplements - but does not replace - water management processes used in
waterflood enhanced oil recovery, Source: Rigzone

Although proportions vary and worldwide data are incomplete, water makes up a significant volume of the production from wells. To provide some idea of the magnitude of water involved, the Produced Water Society – citing 2012 data – has reported an average ratio of 9.2 barrels of produced water per barrel of oil for wells in 21 states in the U.S. (excluding Oklahoma and Texas).

Finding cost-effective ways to process, store and, increasingly, recycle and reuse produced water is an ongoing challenge for operating companies. I recently chatted with the head of a British Columbia-based firm, Saltworks Technologies, Inc., that has unveiled a process for treating produced water used in waterflood enhanced oil recovery operations.

Saltworks has developed a mobile unit – called “Flex EDR” – that desalinates produced water for reuse via the electrodialysis reversal (EDR) process, which reduces total dissolved solids (TDS) in produced waters and concentrated brines. According to the company, the modular EDR system is rugged and incorporates specialized membranes that resist degradation from solvents common in oil and gas operations. Sparrow also noted the technology integrates more than 40 patents and that the company’s early growth was supported by funding from BP, Cenovus and ConocoPhillips.

Read full article: Rigzone

Media

Taxonomy