Lesson Handout Notes 24331 WATER DISPOSAL

A62.1858-LHN-PRO-24331-01
Effective Date: April 20th 2007

Training Program Discipline System Sub-System Training Focus Training Elements

: TECHNICIAN: LEVEL 2 CERTIFICATION : PROCESS : WATER TREATMENT : WATER DISPOSAL : BASIC KNOWLEDGE : This lesson targets training on the following training elements: Disposal Water Quality Specification Re-injection Dumping - Water Quality : At the end of the Lesson the participants will be able to: List typical water quality properties for surface disposal Describe re-injection Define disposed water quality specifications

Training Objectives

0 Rev

2007-04-20 Date

Viorel Vladut Prepared by

V.V. Initials

T. Hedison Checked by

TH Initials

R.G. Hollamby Approved by

RGH Initials

Initial Document Modifications Page 1 of 6

Form: A62.1858-ADM-FRM-0203

Cegelec 2006

This document is the property of Cegelec (The Company). Distribution and use of this document are strictly governed by the Co mpanys Document Management Policy and Procedures. The contents and form of the document are the sole property of The Company and may not be reproduced, distributed or used without the express written permission of The Company.

Lesson Handout Notes 24331 : Water Disposal

A62.1858-LHN-PRO-24331-01 April 20th 2007

DOCUMENT INFORMATION TABLE OF CONTENTS: Technician Level 2 Certification Process Water Treatment Water Disposal Basic Knowledge Document information Table of Contents Purpose Owner Custodian Introduction/Water Quality Water Disposal Water Re-injection Page no. 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 5

Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide the participant study information. Owner The owner of this document is the Process Discipline Team of Ogere Training Facility, Ogere Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Custodian The custodian of this document is the Data Administrator and Document Controller of the Ogere Training Facility, Nigeria.

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Lesson Handout Notes 24331 : Water Disposal

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Introduction Water fit for human consumption is called drinking water or "potable water". Water that is not fit for drinking but is not harmful for humans when used for food preparation is called safe water. In the developing world, 90% of all wastewater still goes untreated into local rivers and streams. Some 50 countries, with roughly a third of the worlds population, also suffer from medium or high water stress, and 17 of these extract more water annually than is recharged through their natural water cycles. The strain affects surface freshwater bodies like rivers and lakes, but it also degrades groundwater resources. Humans require water that does not contain too many impurities. Common impurities include metal salts and/or harmful bacteria, such as Vibrio. Some solutes are acceptable and even desirable for taste enhancement and to provide needed electrolytes. The single largest freshwater resource suitable for drinking is the Lake Baikal in Siberia, which has a very low salt and calcium content and is very clean. Water Quality This is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. The primary bases for such characterization are parameters which relate to drinking water, safety of human contact and for health of ecosystems. The vast majority of surface water on the planet is neither potable nor toxic. This remains true even if sea water in the oceans (which is too salty to drink) isn't counted. Another general perception of water quality is that of a simple property that tells whether water is water pollution or not. In fact, water quality is a very complex subject, in part because water is a complex medium intrinsically tied to the ecology of the Earth. Industrial pollution is a main cause of water pollution. The complexity of water quality as a subject is reflected in the many types of measurements of water and Wastewater quality indicators. These measurements include (from simple and basic to more complex): Electrical conductivity (also see salinity) Dissolved Oxygen | Dissolved Oxygen pH Color of water Taste and odor (geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), etc) Turbidity Total suspended solids (TSS) Chemical oxygen demand (COD) Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) Microorganisms such as fecal coliform bacteria (Escherichia coli), Cryptosporidium, and Giardia Lamblia Nutrients and the environment (fertilizers: nitrates, phosphates) Dissolved metals and metalloids (lead, Mercury (element), arsenic, etc.) Dissolved organics: Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM), Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) Temperature Pesticides Heavy Metals

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Lesson Handout Notes 24331 : Water Disposal

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Reclaimed water, sometimes called recycled water, is former wastewater (sewage) that has been treated and purified for reuse, rather than discharged into a body of water. In some locations, it is treated to be cleaner than standard drinking water, and is used indirectly for drinking. In other locations, it is only intended to be used for non-potable uses, such as irrigating golf courses and parks, filling decorative fountains, fire fighting, and irrigating crops that will be peeled or boiled before being consumed. In a basic sense, reclaimed water is treated effluent that is treated to a higher degree (depending on the location), instead of being discharged into a natural body of water, and used for a broad range of practical purposes. The treated effluent from wastewater treatment facilities is typically discharged directly into a stream, river, or other natural body of water. This recharges the water supply and promotes the natural decomposition of materials in the water that standard treatment practices would not normally be able to remove. But due to increasing population and increasing demand for reliable fresh water sources, many areas around the world are now using reclaimed water to decrease potable water demands. Water Disposal The purpose of Produced Water Degasser is to separate any remaining oil and hydrocarbon gases from the produced water before disposal. It is a three-phase separator and it receives produced water from the Oil / Water Hydrocyclone. There is very little difference between a phase separator and a degassing drum except for the internal layout. A degasser drum normally runs at a very low pressure and it has an internal bucket for collecting any small amounts of oil produced its main function is as its name suggests to free any gas from the produced water. Feed from the hydrocyclone enters the degasser; it is entering a larger space allowing the fluid to expand to its natural size. Due to the effects of density difference between the fluids and gases and the action of gravity the gas will naturally separate from the water, collects at the top of the vessel and is fed away to the flare system. Oil will naturally float on water and settle to the top of the liquid, this is then skimmed over and is collected in the bucket area to be fed back to the sump collection or pumped to the LP separator. Clean water builds up in the inlet base of the vessel and travels to the opposite end from the inlet to spill over a weir system and then to disposal. It should be noted that the feed from the hydrocyclones should already be in high quality specifications and the oil and gas content very low before the action of the degasser. Oil is separated from the produced water by gravity and the gases that flash-off flow to the LP Flare Header. The clean produced water is then pumped for disposal (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Produced Water to Disposal

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Lesson Handout Notes 24331 : Water Disposal

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Water Re-injection The volume of water strata in an oil production reservoir is controlled by re-injecting separated water into that water stratum. A production string is extended into a portion of a wellbore that extends laterally within the oil strata of the reservoir. A liquid flow including a hydrocarbon phase and a water phase is conducted from the oil strata into the laterally extending portion of the wellbore at a production zone. The water phase is separated from the liquid hydrocarbon phase within the production string, and then reinjected back into the water strata of the same reservoir from which it came, at a re-injection zone disposed below the production zone. Produced water, formation water or brine as it is sometimes referred to, is comprised of water containing residual hydrocarbons, heavy metals, numerous inorganic species, suspended solids and chemicals used in treatment and hydrocarbon extraction. It is a byproduct of the cleaning process of raw crude from the well head. Figure 2 shows the typical process layout.

Figure 2 Water Injection Process Layout Water injection is typically done for 2 reasons: 1. Disposal of water recovered from the raw crude oil/water emulsion separation process. 2. Enhances oil recovery by maintaining formation pressure and displacing the crude oil in the reservoir. Raw production, from the wellhead, comes typically in the form of a mixture of free water, oil/water emulsion, oil and solids. This combination is also referred to as BS&W (basil sediment and water) and oil. The raw production from the wellhead is then piped to gathering points, known as satellites. From there it is piped to the production facility or battery. This raw production then enters the Free Water Knockout Vessel (FWKO) where the free water and loose solids are separated from the remaining oil/oil-water emulsion and stored in the produced water tanks. The remaining oil/oil-water emulsion then proceeds to the treater vessels where a combination of heat and chemicals (emulsion breakers) are used to break the emulsion and produce clean oil and produced water and solids.

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Lesson Handout Notes 24331 : Water Disposal

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Clean oil then proceeds to storage or shipping. The produced water from the treaters is transferred to tanks to hold for disposal. Depending on residence time in the tanks, some of the solids may settle out of the water and residual oil in the water floats to the surface. This oil layer is skimmed off the top and recycled through the plant to recover this additional oil. In smaller production facilities, this water may be disposed of directly from the tanks. In larger facilities, there is often an additional water treatment vessel known as a dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit that further cleans the water. After the DAF unit, the water is either sent through filters, which are usually sand or multimedia filters or through hydrocyclones to remove the last traces of oil. After final filtration, the water is used for steam generation, discharged to agricultural canals or rivers or re-injected downhole. As oil wells mature, the ratio of water to oil increases. This is because the formation waters out due to the water injection process. Water becomes a significant byproduct of oil and gas production. For example more than 7m3 of water is produced for every cubic meter of oil or gas equivalent. The produced water is disposed of by either re-injection or by discharge into the environment. Subsurface injection is the primary method for disposal of produced water for land-based oil and gas operations. Produced water may be re-injected for disposal to shallower saltwater formations, or reinjected to older, depleted producing formations. By injecting the water into the producing formation, (Water Flood) well pressure and product flow is maintained by displacing the produced oil.

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