Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/604344
PROJECTS | 20 | Desalination & Water Reuse | November-December 2015 the value of oil. And he questions the water giants' capabilities to provide the "quick, easy and extensive" solutions that he says are essential to overcome the world's water supply challenges. "The very large companies don't know how to handle Untroubled water The Rubiales oilfield in Colombia produces 165,000 barrels of oil a day. To do that it extracts huge volumes ground water with the oil. Currently, the oilfield owner – the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Colombia, Pacific Rubiales Energy – separates each day some 500,000 barrels of this produced brackish water from the crude oil. It then treats the water for disposal by injection into deep aquifers. The brackish feed water contains residual oils, hydrocarbons, solids, and other contaminants that must be removed before desalination can be undertaken. In addition to meeting strict environmental regulations, Pacific Rubiales plans to reuse the treated water for irrigation. The remote location and tropical climate add to the logistical complexity of the project. Following six months of piloting, RWL Water has built and commissioned a proprietary, multistage, fully automated treatment including reverse osmosis (RO) to address the range of challenges at the oilfield. The project is with RWL Water's Israeli operation and is being executed under a rapid deployment some of these smaller areas. And the small companies are not big enough to handle them. We have just the right size," Lauder says. Doubtless the growth of RWL Water has attracted the attention of other players in the market. In due course the board might well find itself in some interesting conversations perhaps with the same bigger rivals that have lacked its fleetness of foot in the fast flowing, mid-market industrial water treatment game. and construction schedule of less than 18 months. To meet irrigation standards, total salinity of the treated water must be less than 240 mg/l, with less than 0.5mg/l of hydrocarbons and a sodium adsorption ratio of less than 10. The plant is designed to allow 90% of the feed water to be used for irrigation while 10% (including the reverse osmosis brine) will be injected into a deep well. Other waste streams from the plant will be treated and converted to solid sludge for landfill disposal. In addition to the engineering, procurement and construction, RWL Water will operate the plant for ten years. RWL Water says its solutions for Pacific Rubiales can be adapted to address other water treatment challenges in the oil and gas industry around the world. "This is an exciting win-win project for Pacific Rubiales, providing an innovative, lower cost and sustainable alternative to manage water production from our Rubiales oilfield, as well as establishing a new green industry that benefits the region," says Pacific Rubiales chief executive officer, Ronald Pantin. Light on the subject: a team talk by RWL Water's project manager during the RO construction.