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LECTURE 5
The Production Activities and the
Associated Wastes in the Offshore
Oil and Gas Operations
4
Table 5.1 Typical quantities of wastes discharged during offshore oil and gas
exploration and production activities
Notes: (a) Actual loss to the environment may be higher; (b) estimate based on 50
wells drilled from a single offshore production platform, drilled over 4 to 20 years; (c)
from a single platform
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2. Produced water
o The formation water separated from the hydrocarbons
o Most significant wastes generated in production volume and
quantity
o Components mainly varies according to formation water 2nd
recovery, 3rd recovery, types of chemicals
Usually include dissolved mineral salts and organic
compounds (BTEX, PAHs), oil hydrocarbons, heavy metals,
suspended particles, biocides, deck drainage, ballast water,
cooling/process water, etc.
Other substances: components used during drilling and other
production operations
o Can mix with extracted oil, gas, and injection waters
Complex and changeable composition
o Amount: typically, 7-10 bbls of water/ barrel of oil; a single
platform can discharge 2,000 – 7,000 m3 ; 77 billion bbl/year
(2003)
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o Increasing ages of oil fields increasing volumes and difficulty of
the treatment for produced water
o Produced water need to be cleaned before discharge oil
separator mainly remove particulate and dispersed oil 20 mg/L -
50 mg/L dissolved hydrocarbons release to the marine system
my be solved by effective technologies (Such as membranes from
natural cellulose materials)
o About 10% oil discharged into ocean due to produced water (20% of
oil discharge in the North Sea)
Table 5.2 Volumes of treated Produced Water Discharged to the Ocean in different
Parts of the World
Locations Discharge rate (m3/day)
U.S. Gulf of Mexico 549,000
Offshore California 14,650
Cook Inlet, Alaska 22,065
North sea 512,000
Australia 100,000
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West Java Sea (3 offshore facilities) 192,000
Table 5.3 Produced water composition compared to seawater
in mg/L unless otherwise noted
Oil
o All the organic materials in oil group exist in
Dispersed form relatively easier to separate from wastewater
using primary separations
Dissolved form require more severe treatment
− Composition varies with the type of oil (paraffinic,
asphaltenic, or condensate)
− Classified into aliphatic hydrocarbons, aromatic
compounds, and organic acids
− Will increase the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and
possibly deplete dissolved oxygen level
Amount of oil can be measured as: Total Petroleum
Hydrocarbons (TPH), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), PAH
Typically, TPH = 300-1000 mg/L, TOC = 150-750 mg/L,
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Metals
o Include, alkaline earth (Ba, Ca, Mg, Sr), earth (B), and alkaline (Na,
K, Li)
o BaSO4 scale may form on contact with seawater
o Measured as: dissolved, acid soluble, total recoverable, etc.
Radionuclides
o Produced waters naturally occurring contain radioactive elements,
such as radium - 226 and radium – 228 increasing concerns
about radioactive risk
Treatment chemicals
o Production treatment chemicals (scale inhibitor, corrosion inhibitor,
biocides, etc.)
o Gas treating chemicals (H2S scavenger, dehydrator)
Dissolved salt
o Produced water with high salinity 3 – 300 g/L
o Predominantly NaCl and more acidic than seawater
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o NaCl 80% of total dissolved solids (1,500 -180,000 mg/L)
Dissolved oxygen
o Causing severe corrosion to the system prevent oxygen getting
into produced water
o Due to a large amount of biodegradable material in produced water
high BOD
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Figure 5.2 Dilution contours at 5 m depth of produced water dispersal in a
scale model: current velocity 0.3 m/s
Note: 1 – rig support structure, 2 – discharge point
Treatment technologies
o Primary treatment
Based on gravity separation
Suitable for easily removable contaminants
Reduce workload of sequential treatments
Example flotation and sedimentation
o Secondary treatment
Remove selective group of contaminates
Not complete removal of all organic contaminants
Example air striping effective for volatile compounds, but not
for non-volatile ones
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o Tertiary treatment
Render the water to an acceptable level
Usually combination of different processes, depending on type
and dgree of contamination (e.g. chemical oxidation, AC
adsorption)
o Treatment for petroleum wastes
Example for refinery pollution control
− Most of the attention focuses on organic compounds
removal
− The treatment of wastewater from refinery removal of
diverse pollutants
Oil and grease immediate concern and usually removed by
physical separation
Biological treatment, carbon adsorption, and filtration currently
used to remove suspended and dissolved organic constituents
Chemical treatment often required for neutralization, emulsion
breaking, and chemical precipitation.
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Table 5.3 technology
to clean up produced
water evaluated by
API (1994)
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© Bing Chen
o API separator (Oil separator)
Applicability
− Removal of materials less dense than water
− Removal of suspended materials more dense than water
sedimentation
Design factors for oil separators
− Specific gravity of the oil and wastewater
− Temperature of the waste stream
− Presence or absence of emulsions
− Suspended solids concentration
Efficiency factors for oil separators
− Many design and operating variables, but two most
significant factors flow rate and influent oil
concentration
− Hydraulically prevent “flushing” at high flow, bypass or
overflow lines generally used
− Higher efficiency for higher oil concentration (could
reach 90%) 19
Removal of other contaminants
− Highly variable
− COD removal 15 – 80%
− SS 30 – 65%
o Steam stripping
Comparison with air stripping
− Similar principle, different medium
− Less volatile compounds extracted by steam stripping
− More costly than air stripping
Remove selected constituents
− Two most prevalent pollutants in refinery wastewater H2S
and NH3
− Use of steam condense with hydrocarbon vapor phase
containing H2S and NH3
− Can also strip phenol
Other aromatics stripped at various efficiencies
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Secondary and tertiary treatment
o Activated carbon Adsorption
Remove dissolved hydrocarbon
Factors for the applicability of AC adsorption include
− Adsorption capacity of the carbon for the organic compounds
− Competitive adsorption of different substances in a multi-
component system
Single and multi-component systems
− Adsorption capacity the ultimate capacity to adsorb a
single solute
− In a multi-component system, the rate of transfer is of the
paramount importance the amount of a particular
compound adsorbed onto the carbon
− Competitive adsorption adsorption capacities of AC for
individual components decreases
− AC can also lower the toxicity level of the wastewater
− Literature showed direct processing of contaminated
water by AC not very effective
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o Biological treatment
Organic matter food (substrate) for microorganisms organic
substrate be converted to CO2, water and more new cells
Microorganisms can be
− Aerobic need free oxygen
− Anoxic can use bound oxygen (e.g. from NO3 for denitrification)
− Anaerobic do not need free oxygen
− Facultative can grow with or without oxygen
State of microorganisms in wastewater
− Suspended mixed liquor SS or mixed liquor volatile SS
− Attached to some medium
Rate of microbial growth depend on amount of organic matter
(substrate)
Aerobic/anoxic processes
− Aerobic processes heterotrophic bacteria (obtain C from
organics) can oxidize
− 1/3 of organic matter to CO2 + water
− 2/3 of organic matter to new cells anoxic process
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Aerobic treatment main method for wastewater treatment
o Membranes (filtration)
Semi-permeable barriers (with uniform pores, range from 0.1 nm
– 1000 nm)
− Allow the passage of the solvent
− Retard the passage of solutes
Cannot be used a one step process the oily water will plug
the pores of the membrane
Suitable as secondary or tertiary treatment processes for
removal of dissolved organic compounds reduce toxicity
Newer membrane-based technologies silicone rubber
o Electrolytic treatment
Greatly reduce concentration of oil in water from 4,770 mg/L
to 10 mg/L
Electrolytic breakup emulsions
Carried out by an electrolytic cell
Use ferrous ion to destabilized the oil emulsions then reacts
with them in the presence of air
− form ferric-hydroxide microfloc
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− destabilized oil droplets are adsorbed by microfloc
o Electrosorption
Electrosorption or potential swing adsorption a method to removal
of organics from dilute ionic solutions (produced water)
An adsorption process
− Driving force electrochemical potential of the adsorbing media
− Using adsorbents (e.g. AC) with large surface areas as well as
favorable electrical conductivity
Example removal of ethyleneamines (a class of amine compounds
containing ethylene) from produced water
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3. Atmospheric emissions
Atmospheric emissions all stages of oil and gas activities, the
main sources include
o Constant or periodical burning associated gas and excessive
amounts of hydrocarbons
o Continuous flaring to eliminate gas from storage tanks and pressure-
controlling systems
Flaring controlled burning water vapor, CO2, noise and
heat. May also include CO, NOx, H2S, SO2, PAH, CH4, low
molecular weight hydrocarbon.
o Combustion of gaseous and liquid fuel in energetic units
About 10% of total oil and gas production in Great British
flared and used for covering the energetic needs of field
developments
o Evaporation or venting on hydrocarbons during production,
treatment, transportation, and storage
Venting controlled release of gases into the atmosphere
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methane
Major components of atmospheric emission:
o Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon
monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and the products of the
incomplete burning of hydrocarbons
Some pollutants react with atmospheric moisture
precipitate onto the coastal area and sea surface
local and regional pollution
Mitigation methods
Low emission natural gas fired equipment
Electrical system
Better designed for flare systems
Sulphur recovery, gas recovery
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4. Other wastes
Produced sand
o Generated from unconsolidated sand in production zone
common in AB and SASK
o Slurried particles originating from hydraulic fractionation,
formation sands, scale generated during production
o Includes varying amounts mineral scale, corrosion products, slurries
generated in produced water treatment system
o Volume generated depends on formation, age, field and
production methods.
Treatment/disposal
o Transfer to land and treat with land farming, road construction and
landfill
o Injection – hydraulic fracture of formation required
o Discharge to water treatment levels depends on requirement
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Deck drainage
o Wastewater generated from platform washing, deck washing,
spillage, rainwater, and runoff from curbs, gutters, and drains,
including drip pans and wash areas
o Include chemicals such as drilling fluids, ethylene glycol, lubricants,
fuels, biocides, surfactants, detergents, corrosion inhibitors,
cleaners, solvents, paint cleaners, bleach, dispersants, coagulants,
and any other chemical used in the daily operations of the facility
o Must be treated prior to discharge.
o Oil and grease the primary pollutants
Treatment
o Using sump and skim pile system (EPA)
Gravity separation in the sump Oil and water
After treatment in an oil water separator,
clean water is discharged,
oily water is stored onboard until it can be transferred to an
approved disposal site. 33
Sanitary sewage
o Wastewater discharged from toilets and urinals
o Volumes varies widely with time, occupancy, facility characteristics,
and operational situation
o Primarily organics High BOD, and nutrients
o Others include fecal coliform bacteria, total suspended solids (TSS),
total residual chlorine.
Treatment
o Waste may be ground up, collected in septic tank, transported
onshore
o Biological treatment discharge
o Example: US. EPA: approved marine sanitation device (MSD)
no floating solids, no oil, Cl <1 mg/L, BOD <60 mg/L, TSS <60
mg/L, pH = 6.5 -8.5
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Displacement/ballast water
o Seawater added or removed to maintain the proper ballast floater
level and ship draft.
o Also includes water used for jackup rig-related sea bed support
capability tests, such as preload water.
o All ballast water contaminated with oil and grease
o If sheen detected waste stream may not be discharged
o Treatment using oil-water separator
Bilge water
o Seawater collects in the lower internal parts of the drilling vessel
hull.
o Contaminated with oil, grease, solid (rust) at low points in the bilges
o Treatment using oil-water separator
o Monitoring pH, toxicity before discharge
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Noise and light
Table 5.4 noise sources and activities in offshore oil and gas operations
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