FEATURE sectorreport
producedwater Stricter mandates A large amount of water is generated along with oil, natural gas, shale gas, and coal bed methane during the extraction process. This water is called Produced Water or Formation Water. Produced Water contains contaminants such as oil, grease, organics, suspended and dissolved particles, salts, heavy metals, and various other impurities.
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his water needs to be treated before it can be disposed or used. Management options for Produced Water include deep disposal wells, reinjection, and aquaculture, irrigation, and evaporation ponds. Produced Water, if disposed without proper treatment, can cause loss of aquatic life (if disposed in water sources such as oceans) and can contaminate ground water (if disposed into rivers, ponds, and ground). Frost & Sullivan gives an insight into the Produced Water Treatment and Management Market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Region and highlights the factors affecting it in the present and future. The management of Produced Water involves de-sanding and
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solids removal, primary treatment, secondary treatment, tertiary treatment, pumping, and disposal. The extent of capital and operational expenditure involved in each of these steps is different for different regions and may vary widely even within the same region. This depends on the extent of water cut in the region and on the disposal options. The expenditure varies based on whether the disposal sites are onsite or offsite. But, the general steps are the same for any Produced Water Management process.
Supply chain structure Contracts are given by the end users to Engineering, Procurement and
An insight into the factors driving the produced water market in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region from Frost & Sullivan
Construction (EPC) contractors. EPC contractors may then allocate subcontractors to perform the various steps involved or they may undertake the entire project themselves. The equipment for Produced Water treatment and management operations is then ordered from a select list of eligible suppliers by the EPC contractors or sub-contractors. The EPC contractors and suppliers, in turn, may run the project on a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) basis.
Drivers and restraints The regulatory requirements for Produced Water Disposal are getting more and more stringent. Forums like the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention), where the basic aim is to decrease the overall discharge, increase in management options, and stricter disposal requirements have significantly influenced the outlook of the Oil & Gas industry towards addressing environmental concerns. The Kuwait and the Barcelona Conventions legislations are followed in the Middle Eastern countries and as per these, the maximum oil content in disposed water should be less than 100 milligram per litre. The list (next page) highlights the key drivers and restraints affecting the Produced Water Market: