3. Water Resources in Abu Dhabi - 2022
63.62
29.22
7.16
Groundwater
Desalination
Treated Wastewater
Agriculture
Forestry
Amenity
2009
2,174
111(5%)
122(6)
2,226
2003
362
(16%)
2,702
347
(16%)
2006
1,741
(78%)
1,716
(79%)
1,949
(72%)
607
(22%)
146(6)
Total
Groundwater Consumption in Abu Dhabi by Use in Mm3 - (2003-2009)
95%
4. Overview and Background
• Produced water (PW) is generated during the production of oil and gas. It is
the largest waste stream generated in oil and gas industries
• It has a complex composition and is composed of a mixture of different
organic and inorganic compounds
• Records indicated that global PW is around 328 million barrel/d compared
with around 102 million barrel/d of oil (52.28x106 to 16.32x106 m3/d), with
Water to Oil Ratio (WOR) of 3:1
• Water to Oil Ratio is increasing with time, this project indicated a global WOR
of about 4:1
5. Drivers and Challenges
Drivers
• Rapidly growing oil and gas extraction activities
• Increased produced water volumes in mature oil fields
• Growing pressure on water resources
• Presence of developed oil and gas field
• Strict environmental rules and regulation on the factors associated with the produced water treatment
Challenges
• The PW has very high salinity (up to 290,000 mg/l)
• Data availability on both quantities and qualities
• Technical challenges
• Economic challenges
• Environmental challenges
7. Country Produced water (bl/year) References
USA 21,000,000,000 (Duhon, 2012; Clark and Veil, 2015)
Australia 207,570,000 (Balckam, 2017)
China 45,917,000 (Dolan et al., 2018)
Colorado 92,274,300 (Rice and Nuccio, 2000)
Iraq 105,853,190 (Keesom et al., 2009; Kuraimid, 2013)
Oman 1,840,000,000 (Breuer and Grissemann, 2011)
Qatar 50,508,816 (Al-Kaabi, 2016)
Global Data
Data Collection and Analysis
8. 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
WATER
PRODUCTION
(1000
BWD)
TIME PERIOD (YEAR)
PW Production (1000 bwd) Forcast Until 2024
Buhasa Huwaila Bida Al Qemzan Asab Sahil Shah Qusahwira Mender RA_SN Field Al Dabbiya Field
Abu Dhabi Data
Onshore Fields
Data Collection and Analysis
9. Produced Water Quality
Sodium 28500
Potassium 242
Calcium 8477
Magnesium 957
Barium 11
Strontium 607
Lithium 12
Iron (total) 10
Copper <2
Zinc <2
Manganese 3.2
Aluminium <4
Phosphorous <11
Silicon 16
Chloride 61925
Sulphate 153
Bromide 401
Ammonium 81
Nitrate 1.2
Phosphate <1
Bicarbonate 160
Carbonate 0
Hydroxyl 0
Formate 20
Acetate 66
Propionate 7.2
Butyrate <3
Iso-Valerate <3
Boron 25
Total Dissolved Solids 103068
(Total NaCl Equivalent)
* pH 5.55
Table A3.57 Ionic Composition – Well BU
306LS (Tham BIIIL+BIV)
Ion (mg/l) Well Bb302
Na+
48800
K+
1129
Ca2+
10290
Mg2+
3045
Ba2+
3.4
Sr2+
478
Fe (tot) 0.8
Cl-
99800
Br-
1090
SO4
2-
311
HC(O)O-
CH3C(O)O-
20
HCO3
-
1102
Total dissolved solids 166069
NaCl equivalent 315272
Ionic Strength 3.3
Bab Thamama B Formation Water
Bu Hasa
Bab
QW-70 QW-70 QW-70
Sample Collected BHS BHS BHS
Reservoir LBM TZB TZF
Sample Depth (ft MD) 5768 5966 7394
Sample Collected Date 30-Jan-13 30-Jan-13 30-Jan-13
Sample Analysed Date 10-Mar-13 10-Mar-13 10-Mar-13
Lab Schlumberger Schlumberger Schlumberger
Anions:
Chloride (Cl-
) mg/L 123800 139300 131600
Bromide (Br-
) mg/L
Sulfate (SO4
2-
) mg/L 336 348 308
Sulfide (S-2
) mg/L
Bicarbonate (HCO3-) at measured pH mg/L 723 240 259
Cations:
Lithium (Li+
) mg/L
Sodium (Na+
) mg/L 67900 70800 64500
Potassium (K+
) mg/L 548 569 1220
Magnesium (Mg+
) mg/L 2300 2420 2490
Calium (Ca+
) mg/L 15500 14815 15655
ICP Metals:
Aluminum (Al3+
) mg/L
Barium (Ba2+
) mg/L 6.614 2.403 5.114
Boron (B) mg/L
Copper (Cu2+
) mg/L
Iron (Fe dissolved) mg/L Not Detected 15.183 3.648
Manganese (Mn2+
) mg/L
Phosphorus (P3+
) mg/L
Silicon (Si4+
) mg/L
Strontium (Sr2+
) mg/L 780.471 815.292 608.445
Zinc (Zn2+
) mg/L
Total Fe mg/L
Total Dissolved Solids
Evaporated mg/L 233,000 246,800 236,800
Caclulated mg/L 212,797 230,374 217,713
Measured by probe mg/L
General Analysis
Specifice Gravity @ 15.56 deg. C
Density at 15.56 deg. C g/cc 1.1477 1.1473 1.1462
Observed pH at 25 deg. C 6.93 6.26 5.64
Resistivity at 25 deg. C Ohm-cm 4.65 4.64 4.64
Conductivity at 25 deg. C mS/cm 215.1 215.5 215.5
TSS 1.1 µm mg/L 17040 1456 551
TSS 0.45 µm mg/L 11060 476 563
Total Alkalinity mg/L as CaCO3)
Total Alkalinity mg/L as HCO3) 592 197 213
Dissolved CO2 mg/L
Formation Brine
Qusahwira
Data Collection and Analysis
11. Treatment Methodology
Decision making considerations for produced water treatment
Technical
Considerations
Environmental
Considerations
Economic
Considerations
Local
Considerations
Quality requirements of intended reuse or disposal
Capacity, Space and weight specifications for proper operation
Contaminant removal and ability to enhance high salinity PW
Minimum pollution to the environment
Ecological impacts to susceptible environments (e.g. marine)
Operation cost (energy, chemicals and waste management)
Access to technology (investment cost and trade restrictions)
Economic feasibility with respect to oil price
Existing support infrastructure and restrictions to space/weight
Onshore vs offshore restrictions
Local freshwater availability and water demand
12. Produced Water Reuse Alternatives
Reinjection for
enhancement
of oil recovery
Discharged to
Environment
Industrial
Use
Agriculture
Use
Wetlands
Injection to
shallow aquifer
systems
Treatment Methodology
13. Typical Produced Water Treatment Scheme
Segregationis a good thing in a wastewater treatment
Waterfor Steam
Flood
Oil
Oil
InjectSalty
Concentrate
Oily Sludge
Oily Sludge
Reuse
Discharge Biosolids
Tertiary Treatment
Biosolids
Biological
Treatment
Non- Oily Produced
Water
Producedwater(s) DesaltingStep
Oil/Water
Separation
CoolingStep
Oily Produced
Water
Produced water
from Dewatering
Field Prior to
Steamflood
Retention Basin
Discharge
Reuse
Treatment Methodology
14. Formation of treatment trains for PW Treatment for different management options
Produced
Water (Onshore
– Offshore)
(1) Basic Treatment
Skimmer
Oil Separator
(2) Primary
Treatment
Centrifugal
Induced gas flotation
Separator
Corrugated plate
interceptor oil separator
(3) Secondary
Treatment
Adsorption
Ultrafiltration
Sand Filter
Nutshell Filter
Biological Treatment
Advanced Oxidation
(4) Desalination
Multiple-effect distillation
Multi-stage flash distillation
Reverse osmosis
forward osmosis
Mechanical vapor
compression
Electrodialysis
Treatment Methodology
15. Results
• The global average PW production is estimated at around 280 million bbl/day as compared to around 97
million bbl/day of oil.
• The global water to oil ratio (WOR) is reported to be around 3:1, accounting to a water cut of about 74%.
• Based on the results of the current project, the global WOR is 4:1.
• In the GCC Countries, the overall WOR ratio is 7:1.
• The produced water from onshore fields in Abu Dhabi Emirate is about 320,000
bbl/day, while that for the offshore is about 770,000 bbl/d.
• The WOR in Abu Dhabi is about 15-20% for onshore fields and 55% for offshore fields.
16. • Energy demand for basic treatment technologies is about 0.19 kWh/m3
• Energy demand for primary treatment technologies varies between 0.7 to 1.1 kWh/m3
• Energy demand for seawater desalination ranges between 2.58 and 8.5 kWh/m3
• Reusing PW in Oil and Gas Operations after treatment to meet the quality required for use in
the oil and gas processing industries, such as drilling, stimulation, and workover operations.
The cost varies from $0.04 to $0.07 per barrel.
• Reinjection of PW into oil wells: This involves transportation of PW from the producing site to
the injection site and needs PW treatment to reduce fouling and scaling agents, sulfates, and
bacteria. The cost varies from $0.70 to $4.00 per barrel.
• Direct discharge of PW as per the regulation norms: This needs treatment to meet onshore
or offshore discharge regulations. The cost varies from $0.03 to $0.05 per barrel.
• Treating PW for Beneficial Use: In some cases, significant treatment of PW is required to
meet the quality required for beneficial uses such as irrigation. The cost varies from $0.25 to
$2.00 per barrel.
Results
17. Wetland Pilot Wetland – Best Practice
Regional Benchmarking - Nimr Wetland in Oman
• Nimr Water Treatment Plant (NWTP)
• Design Flow: 175,000 m3 /day
• Total Dissolved Solids:
• Inflow = 7,000 ppm
• Outflow = 12,000 ppm
• Power Consumption Saved ~ 1,500,000 MWh
• Completion Date:
• 2011 - Phases 1 & 2 (115,000 m3 /day)
• 2019 - Phase 3 (additional 60,000 m3 /day to reach 175,000 m3 /day
18. • Produced Water Quantity and Quality
• Construction Cost
• Energy Source
• Site Accessibility
Selection and Design Criteria
Wetland Pilot Wetland
• Reuse of produced water
• Minimizing the injection of the produced water to
aquifer system
• Achieving Environmental Sustainability
• Ecological Advantages
Advantages
1
• ADNOC Approval
• Capx and Opex Cost
• Operational Responsibly
• Energy Source Availability
• Site Accessibility
Challenges
2
