Membrane Separation Technology for Water Treatment in Upstream Oil & Gas Operations

James Robinson, 2016
Membrane Separation Technology for
Water Treatment in
Upstream Oil & Gas Operations
James Robinson, P.E.

April 20, 2016
Semi-Annual Water & Wastewater Short Course: Issues, Challenges, Solutions & New Technologies

Global Petroleum Research Institute (GPRI) - Texas A&M Department of Petroleum Engineering

James Robinson, P.E.
Experience
• Water Treatment  
Engineering Advisor

• Chevron (2011-2015)

• BP (2000-2009)

• Water Management  
Engineering Consultant

• Oxidane Engineering (2009-2011, 2015-present)

• Cypress Engineering (1991-2000)

Professional
• Professional Engineer

• Society of Petroleum Engineers

• Produced Water Society

Education
• B.S. in Civil Engineering (1990)  
Louisiana State University

• M.S. in Engineering (1992) 
Rice University

Contact
• jcr.tx@icloud.com

• (281) 384-3327

Outline
• Introduction / Overview
• Composition / Characterization
• Seawater,
• Produced Water
• Quantities
• Produced Water Disposition
• Water Treatment Process Design
• Onshore Scenarios
• Offshore Scenarios

Terms used
• PW - produced water
• BPD - barrels per day
• MF - microﬁltration membrane
• NF - nanoﬁltration membrane
• SRM - sulfate removal membrane
• RO - reverse osmosis membrane
• TSS - total suspended solids
• TDS - total dissolved solids
• TPH - total petroleum hydrocarbons (non-soluble organics)
• TOG - total oil & grease (soluble & non-soluble organics)
• EOR - enhanced oil recovery
• ASP - alkali, surfactant, polymer (Chemical-EOR)
• IX - ion exchange (softening)

Composition / Characterization
• Primary Parameters:
• Suspended Solids
• Dispersed Oil (hydrocarbon droplets not soluble in water)
• Additional Parameters (Depending on water re-use / recycling opportunity):
• Dissolved solids:
• Primary cations: Na+
, K+
, Ca2+
, Mg2+
,
• Primary anions: Cl-
, SO4
2-
, bicarbonate
• Additional Indicators: Hardness, Alkalinity
• Other parameters of interest: barium, strontium, iron, boron, silica, acetate
• Dissolved Oil (hydrocarbon compounds soluble in water)
• Dissolved Oxygen
• Residual water treatment chemicals
• Residual chlorine (from biological control)
• Residual sulﬁte (from oxygen scavenger)

Seawater Composition

Primary Produced Water Constituents
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Insoluble SolubleInsoluble Soluble
Cations Anions
Monovalent Multivalent
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions

Primary Produced Water Constituents to remove
for Produced Water Re-Injection (PWRI)
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
TPH TSS
MF

for Offshore Discharge
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
TPH
TOG

for Chemical-EOR Flood
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
TSSTPH
TOG
HardnessNF
MF

for Low Salinity Waterﬂood & Beneﬁcial Reuse
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
Produced Water
Organic Inorganic
Cations Anions
TSSTPH
TOG
TDS
MF
RO

Quantities
• Seawater Injection
• Many offshore developments inject ~1 to 2 bbls seawater per bbl fluid (oil & water)
produced
• Typical offshore injection wells are designed to injection ~10,000 to 30,000 BPD seawater
• Several large offshore facilities inject ~500,000 BPD seawater
• Produced Water
• On average, 8 bbls water produced per bbl oil worldwide
• Some mature field are economically operated at up to 98% water cut (50 bbls water
produced / bbl oil produced)
• U.S. produced water for all oil & gas is ~21 billion bbls (882 billion gals)  
(Source: Clark and Veil, 2009)
• Of that amount, flow-back water from hydraulic fracturing of unconventional wells in the
US is ~1.2 billion bbls (50 billion gals; 5.7% of all produced water)

Produced Water Disposition
• Onshore
~95% PW is re-injected into injection wells  
(either water flood or disposal)
~5% PW is treated for beneficial reuse  
(generally, where disposal capacity is limited or where water is scarce)
• Offshore
~85% PW is treated for discharge into the sea  
(disposal overboard)
~15% PW is re-injected into injection wells  
(either water flood or disposal; generally, where required by regulation)

Water Treatment Process Design
• Water Balance & Water Management Plan
• Source Water (Influent) Selection &  
Water Quality Characterization
• Operational Conditions, Constraints & Priorities
• Treated Effluent Use, Disposal &  
Water Quality Specifications
• Optimize Water Management (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle)
• Technology Selection
• Integration of multi-technology process (pre-treatment processes)

Water Balance & Water Management Plan
• Water Balance
• Determine Water Needs
• Identify Potential Water Sources and
Capacities
• Determine Wastewater Streams
• Identify Wastewater Disposal Options
and Capacities
• Optimize Water Management
• Identify Water Efficiency / Reduction
Opportunities
• Identify Water Reuse Opportunities
(with minimal or no water treatment)
• Identify Water Recycling Opportunities
(with significant water treatment)
• Develop a Water Management Plan:
• Meets water needs
• Has available/sustainable water
sources
• Ensures adequate wastewater disposal
capacity / reliability
• Considers timing of water needs, water
sources, wastewater streams
• Maximizes economic benefits of water
reduction, reuse & recycling
• Minimized environmental impacts on
water supplies and environments where
wastewater is disposed

Treatment Conditions, Constraints & Priorities
• Water Quality & Quantity variability
• Onshore vs Offshore
• Manned vs Un-manned
• Manually Controlled vs Remote Controlled vs Automated
• CAPEX vs OPEX
• Reliability / Redundancy
• Project life-cycle, re-deployment

Primary Options for Produced Water Disposition
• Reuse (minimal or no treatment)
• Waterflood
• Recycling (requires treatment)
• Steam Flood EOR
• Low Salinity Waterflood EOR
• Chemical-EOR Flood
• Beneficial Reuse
• Agriculture
• Irrigation
• Livestock
• Stream flow restoration
• Groundwater Aquifer restoration
• Disposal
• Deep well injection
• Surface discharge (offshore discharge)
• Evaporation

Technology Selection
• Select the most appropriate (economical / reliable /
compact) technology(s) that will achieve the  
Treated Eﬄuent Speciﬁcations, given the  
Source Water Characterization and  
Operational Conditions, Constraints & Priorities
• A multi-technology process is often required  
(pre-treatment, etc.)

Examples of Onshore Scenarios (Generic/Hypothetical)
• Onshore Produced Water Treatment Process  
(Ceramic MF & RO)
• Onshore Chemical-EOR Waterﬂood Process (MF & NF)
• Onshore Gas Gathering and Processing Plant
Wastewater Recycling Process (MF & RO)

Onshore Produced Water Treatment Process
(Ceramic MF & RO)
Scenario: Beneficial reuse of produced water used as alternative to water disposal in wells due to
limited water disposal capacity and reliability; Ceramic MF used as a pre-treatment for IX and RO

Influent: Produced Water (formation water plus re-produced steam)

Influent Water Characterization:

Flowrate: 50,000 BPD

TDS: 6,000 mg/L

TSS: 10 mg/L

TPH: 100 mg/L (after primary oil/water separation)

Treated Effluent Use: Discharge to Surface Wetlands

Treated Effluent Specification:

TDS: < 500 mg/L

TPH: < 1 mg/L

(additional treated effluent specification include organic compounds and metals)

Process:
Primary
Oil/Water
Separation
PW Gravity
Separation
IX WetlandsRO
Surface
Discharge
to River
Gas
Flotation
Walnut
Shell
Filter
Ceramic
MF

Onshore Produced Water Treatment Process
Source: Veolia

Onshore Chemical-EOR Waterflood Process
(Ceramic MF & NF)
Scenario: Ceramic MF used as pretreatment for IX and NF; NF used for PW softening for mixing
with ASP for injection into wells for enhanced oil production

Influents:

Produced Water (formation water)



TDS: 2,500 mg/L

TSS: 10 mg/L


Treated Effluent Use: Produced Water Recycling for Mixing with ASP for polymer flood

Treated Effluent Specifications:

For mixing with ASP and then injection into wells:

Hardness: < 30 mg/L

TPH: < 1 mg/L (feed into NF)

TSS: < 1 mg/L

Process:
Primary
Oil/Water
Separation
PW Gravity
Separation
IX
ASP
Mixing
NF
Injection
Wells
Gas
Flotation
Walnut
Shell
Filter
Ceramic
MF

Chemical-EOR: Enhanced oil recovery by ASP
(alkali, surfactant & polymer) ﬂooding
natural gas
oil
water
NF

Onshore Gas Gathering and Processing Plant
Wastewater Recycling Process (MF & RO)
Scenario: Wastewater recycling is an alternative to disposal in wells due to limited well disposal capacity and reliability

Influents:

Produced Water (formation water); (oily, saline & TSS) 
Utility / Process Area Water (UPA: wash water) (oily, non-saline, TSS)  
IX Brine (non-oily, saline, no-TSS) 
Cooling Tower Blowdown (CBD: non-oily, saline, no-TSS)

Steam Boiler Blowdown (BBD: non-oily, saline, no-TSS)

PW Water Characterization:

Flowrate: 1,900 m3/d (12,000 BPD)

TDS: 5,000 mg/L

TSS: 10 mg/L


Treated Effluent Use: Produced Water Recycling for feed to Steam Boilers

Treated Effluent Specifications:

For reuse in Steam Boilers:

Hardness: < 0.5 mg/L (feed into steam boilers)

TPH: < 1 mg/L (feed into NF)

TSS: < 1 mg/L

Technology Selection:

• PW treatment with gas flotation & nutshell filtration prior to wastewater recycling process

• Concentrated brine streams (CBD, BBD, IX Brine) go to disposal wells (not sent to PW recycling process

• PW & UPA streams are combined and treated with MF & NF in wastewater recycling process

Onshore Gas Gathering and Processing Plant  
Without Wastewater Recycling Process
River Water
Intake
River Water
Treatment
Water  
Distribution
Network
Sour  
Water
Stripper
Boiler 
Water 
Treatment
Cooling  
Water
Towers
Steam Injection:  
2000 m3/d
Boiler Blowdown:  
100 m3/d
Evaporation:  
1000 m3/d
Cooling Tower Blowdown: 50 m3/d
Sour Water: 100 m3/d
Utility /  
Process Area  
Wash-down 
Water Utility/Wash-down Water; 
100 m3/d
Steam  
Boilers
IX Brine: 100 m3/d
Produced  
Water: 
2000 m3/d
Produced  
Water 
Treatment
Wastewater  
Disposal  
Wells
2100 m3/d
2200  
m3/d
1050  
m3/d
100  
m3/d
100  
m3/d
3450  
m3/d
2450  
m3/d
Produced Water; 
2000 m3/d

Onshore Gas Gathering and Processing Plant  
With Wastewater Recycling Process
River Water
Intake
River Water
Treatment
Water  
Distribution
Network
Sour  
Water
Stripper
Boiler 
Water 
Treatment
Cooling  
Water
Towers
Steam Injection:  
2000 m3/d
Boiler Blowdown:  
100 m3/d
Evaporation:  
1000 m3/d
Cooling Tower Blowdown: 50 m3/d
Sour Water: 100 m3/d
Utility /  
Process Area  
Wash-down 
Water
Utility/Wash-down Water; 
100 m3/d
Steam  
Boilers
IX Brine: 20 m3/d (was 100 m3/d)
Produced  
Water: 
2000 m3/d
Produced  
Water 
Treatment
Wastewater  
Disposal  
Wells
MF & NF 
Wastewater  
Recycling  
Process
Retentate 
(Waste Stream): 
210 m3/d
Permeate 
(Recycled Water):
1890 m3/d
210 m3/d
230  
m3/d
1050  
m3/d
100  
m3/d
100  
m3/d
1480  
m3/d
480  
m3/d
(was  
3450  
m3/d)
(was  
2450  
m3/d)

Examples of Offshore Scenarios (Generic/Hypothetical)
• Offshore Waterflood Process (MF)
• Offshore Sulfate Removal Membrane (SRM) Process (NF)
• Offshore Low Salinity Waterflood Process (NF & RO)
• Offshore Chemical-EOR Waterflood Process (NF)

Offshore Waterflood Process (MF)
Scenario: MF used as an alternative to multi-media filters for suspended solids
removal; Seawater injection is to maintain reservoir pressure and improve oil
production

Influent: Seawater



TSS: 2 mg/L

Treated Effluent Use: Injection into wells for reservoir pressure maintenance


TSS: < 0.1 mg/L; max solids particle size < 10 microns

Process: Seawater  
Lift Pumps
Coarse  
Strainers
MF
Deaeration  
Towers
Injection  
Wells

Offshore Sulfate Removal Membrane (SRM)
Process (NF)
Scenario: sulfate removal membranes (SRM) used as mitigation to prevent barium
sulfate scale precipitation and/or reservoir souring; Seawater injection is to maintain
reservoir pressure and improve oil production

Inﬂuent: Seawater



TSS: 2 mg/L

SO4: 2,700 mg/L




SO4: < 40 mg/L

Lift Pumps
Coarse  
Strainers
MF
Deaeration  
Towers
Injection  
Wells
SRM 
(NF)

Sulfate Removal Membranes (SRM)
• Used to mitigate scale formation:
• Where oilfield reservoir formation water contains significant amounts of barium and/or
strontium, injection of seawater can cause barium and strontium sulfate scale to be
formed.
• These scales can become deposited in production pipe internals and may also have
the effect of reducing reservoir permeability.
• Barium and strontium sulfate scales are difficult to remove since they are not easily
dissolved.
• Uses nano-filtration membranes to remove sulfates from seawater
• Reduces seawater sulfate ion concentration from around 2,700 ppm to less than 40 ppm.
• May help mitigate formation souring by limiting the action of sulfate reducing bacteria
(SRB)

Sulfate Removal Membranes (SRM)
SRM Package 1 SRM Package 2
Seawater 
Feed 
(mg/L)
SRM  
Permeate 
(mg/L)
% 
Reduction
Seawater 
Feed 
(mg/L)
SRM  
Permeate 
(mg/L)
% 
Reduction
Sodium Na+ 11,200 10,690 5% 10,897 10,042 8%
Potassium K+ 370 320 14% 460 419 9%
Calcium Ca2+ 400 330 18% 428 72 83%
Magnesium Mg2+ 1,400 330 76% 1,368 68 95%
Chloride Cl- 19,750 19,000 4% 19,700 16,119 18%
Bicarbonate HCO3
- 140 20 86% 124 80 35%
Sulfate SO4
2- 2,650 40 98% 2,960 30 99%
Dissolved Solids TDS 35,910 30,730 14% 35,937 26,830 25%
Hardness (as CaCO3) 6,768 2,185 68% 6,706 460 93%

Sulfate Removal Membrane (SRM) Packages
90,000 BPD 250,000 BPD

Offshore Low-Salinity Waterﬂood Process
(NF & RO)
Scenario: A combination of NF and RO used to partially desalinate and remove sulfate from
seawater; Low-salinity seawater injection is to maintain reservoir pressure and enhance oil
production

Inﬂuent: Seawater



TDS: 35,000 mg/L

TSS: 2 mg/L

SO4: 2,700 mg/L




TDS: < 4,000 mg/L

SO4: < 40 mg/L

Process:
Seawater  
Lift Pumps
Coarse  
Strainers
MF
Deaeration  
Towers
Injection  
Wells
NF
RO

Offshore Chemical-EOR Waterflood Process (NF)
Scenario: NF used to soften seawater; Softened seawater is mixed with ASP for injection to
maintain reservoir pressure and enhance oil production

Influent: Seawater



TDS: 35,000 mg/L

TSS: 2 mg/L

SO4: 2,700 mg/L

Treated Effluent Use: Mixing with ASP for polymer flood injection into wells for enhanced oil
production



SO4: < 40 mg/L

Hardness: < 300 mg/L

Lift Pumps
Coarse  
Strainers
MF
Deaeration  
Towers
ASP  
Mixing
NF
Injection  
Wells

Emerging Membrane Technologies
• Organo-phobic / Oleo-phobic MF (PW)
• Current MF is susceptible to fouling by suspended oil droplets in PW coating the
membrane surface. Surface repulsion of oil droplets would enable less-frequent
membrane cleaning cycles and less intensive pre-treatment for dispersed oil removal
• Subsea Seawater MF, NF & RO (on the Seaﬂoor)
• Placement of seawater treatment processes at the location of subsea injection wells
would enable farther off-sets from host facilities thereby allowing greater areal sweep
of the reservoir, while also reducing weight and footprint on the host production
facility
• Membrane Distillation (PW & Seawater)
• Membrane Distillation (MD) is a thermally-driven separation process, in which only
vapor molecules transfer through a microporous hydrophobic membrane. The driving
force in the MD process is the vapor pressure difference induced by the temperature
difference across the hydrophobic membrane.

Membrane Separation Technology for Water Treatment in Upstream Oil & Gas Operations

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