REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED AND DISPERSED HYDROCARBONS FROM OIL AND GAS PRODUCED WATER WITH MPPE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE TOXICITY AND ALLOW WATER REUSE

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1 Lead author Dick Meijer REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED AND DISPERSED HYDROCARBONS FROM OIL AND GAS PRODUCED WATER WITH MPPE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE TOXICITY AND ALLOW WATER REUSE D.T. Meijer 1 and C. Madin 2 1 Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, the Netherlands PO Box BG Ede The Netherlands 2 Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, Australia Level 4, Bay Centre 65 Pirrama Road Pyrmont NSW 2009 MPPSystems@Veoliawater.com water@veoliawater.com.au ABSTRACT Legislation worldwide and current technologies used in the treatment of offshore oil and gas/condensate produced water are mainly aimed at the removal of dispersed hydrocarbons (dispersed oil). From the beginning of this century, new insights in the North Sea area revealed that specific contaminants in produced water are toxic and their impact on the environment was assessed. This insight was later supported by work in the Philippines. A comparison of water with the same total organic carbon (TOC) levels showed in one case that the unknown toxic content was higher with an unexpected disastrous effect on the biocultures. Overall parameters like biological, chemical and total oxygen demand (BOD, COD and TOC) are of no value in identifying and managing the toxic content of waste and produced water streams. New extraction based technologies such as the Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) technology appear to remove dispersed and dissolved toxic constituents and reduce the environmental impact. Industrial applications show a >99% toxic content reduction in produced water streams. A recent application (at Woodside Petroleum s Pluto LNG project) is described where the ultimate reuse of produced water was as demineralised water in an LNG plant. Emerging potential is presented for floating LNG plants currently investigated in conceptual studies by the oil and gas industry. Finally, fundamental technological mechanisms are presented that are required to meet zero harmful discharge legislation. KEYWORDS MPPE, produced water reuse, wastewater reuse, groundwater reuse, dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons, zero harmful discharge, ZHD, Environmental Impact Factor, EIF. FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 INTRODUCTION At the moment, technologies used in the treatment of offshore produced water on oil and gas platforms are mainly aimed at the removal of dispersed hydrocarbons (dispersed oil). The focus on the removal of dispersed hydrocarbons is due to past and still current legislation that aims to reduce dispersed oil emissions. In the late 1990s and at the beginning of this century, attention has shifted towards the effect of other constituents of the produced water. This has led to a better understanding of the impact of the individual toxic constituents on the environment and the development of new technologies to abate them. Extraction technologies like C-tour and the Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE) technology have shown very good performance reducing harmful discharge. This paper will deal with: present emission regulations; produced water composition and environmental issues; technological mechanisms reducing the environmental impact factor; MPPE technology; environmental impact toxicity reduction with MPPE; analytical parameter and approach to produced water treatment; and, the future and reuse of produced water. PRESENT EMISSION REGULATIONS FOR OFFSHORE PRODUCED WATER In the North Sea (Fig. 1), countries like the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have been fishing in the same pond for ages. It has taken them quite some time to agree on property zones, fishing zones and fishing quota. Ever since oil and gas production started in the North Sea in the 1970s, produced water emissions have attracted major attention. Despite the governments, the fishing industry and oil and gas producers having their own agendas, these countries formalised their efforts towards prevention and elimination of pollution of the marine environment in 1978 by means of the Paris Commission (PARCOM) and since 2002 by means of the Oslo Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR convention). The present target of 40 mg/l oil-in-water was endorsed by PARCOM in 1978 in The Hague. Both governments and representatives of the oil and gas industry for each country are participating in the OSPAR convention. For a very long period they have used the criterion of 40 ppm dispersed oil as the leading criterion for offshore produced water discharge. Only recently APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 1

2 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin Figure 1. The North Sea. 2 50th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10

3 Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with MPPE technology they have reduced the dispersed oil target from 40 ppm to 30 ppm and sought a 15% total emission reduction in 2007 compared with 2000; however, some of the individual OSPAR countries have adopted a more detailed approach regarding the composition of produced water and its impact on the environment. For example, in the Netherlands a declaration of intent (Ministry of Economic Affairs, 1995) was agreed in 1995 between the National Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association (NOGEPA) and the Dutch Government to reduce the benzene emission in the offshore produced water to 60% of the 1990 level by This led to investigations and field tests of new emerging technologies to remove both dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons and other contaminants in the second half of the 1990s. In the beginning of this century these new technologies were first implemented commercially on the most critical offshore platforms in the Dutch part of the North Sea (Dalen, 2004). In the second half of the 1990s the Norwegian oil and gas industry (Statoil, Hydro) took the initiative to study the toxic impact of the individual constituents of the produced water and their impact on the environment. A so-called environmental impact factor (EIF) was introduced to quantify the environmental impact of the produced water stream of each specific platform. Based on this approach the Norwegian Government introduced a zero harmful emission policy in the beginning of this century with the objective to reach zero harmful emission of all platforms in In the rest of the world national oil and gas producers associations and governments are following these developments in the North Sea by setting their emission regulations to comparable levels as in the North Sea. For example, in 2007 the Australian Government tightened the emission regulation for dispersed oil from 50 to 30 ppm (Lowe, 2006). In Malaysia the present 100 ppm is being reconsidered (Ithin and Christopher, 2006), but actually levels <50 to as low as 30 ppm are reached in practice. At an international conference in 2006, a paper from the Philippines recommended putting more emphasis on the harmful impact of the oil and gas produced water emissions (Phillips et al, 2006). PRODUCED WATER COMPOSITION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND MECHANISMS TO REDUCE IT When taking a closer look at the oil and gas produced water composition, one can identify non polar and polar hydrocarbons on the one hand, and dispersed and dissolved hydrocarbons on the other hand. The non polar aliphatics are mainly dispersed and have a tendency to float, while polar hydrocarbons are dissolved and are not floating. Within the dissolved hydrocarbons one can identify hydrocarbons with a clear toxic effect on the environment (toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, less biodegradable, etc) and hydrocarbons that are less or non toxic and more biodegradable. A schematic presentation of these categories is given in Figure 2. The general composition of oil and gas produced water streams is qualitatively similar all over the world, but there FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 are quantitative variations in composition from platform to platform. For this paper, a simple graphic is used to represent the composition in terms of concentration ranges for the individual components as in Figure 3. Constituents in produced water As indicated, the dispersed oil content can vary from 100 ppm down to 40 ppm or even 30 ppm or less depending on the flotation and coalescing techniques applied. Toxic dissolved hydrocarbons like BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene) can then still vary between 100 and 800 ppm while levels of PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons), and alkyl phenols will be some hundreds of ppb levels. More polar, less toxic and more readily biodegradable components (like carboxylic acids, alcohols, etc) are generally present at hundreds of ppm. The Norwegian oil and gas Hydrocarbons Non polar More polar Dispersed Floating Dissolved Not floating non toxic Alphatics Separators / flotation Standard : 40 ppm Advanced : ppm Aliphatics Negligible Alcohols/Methanol/Glycol Carboxylic acids Hundreds of ppm Toxic Aromatics Carcinogenic BTEX ppm Alkyl Phenols Mutagenic PAHs 200 6,000 ppb Ten Hundreds ppb Figure 2. Oil and gas produced water composition. Compounds ppm Composition Dispersed oil = Dispersed hydrocarbons = Dispersed Aliphatics = floating Dissolved hydrocarbons Toxic: Benzene - Toluene Aromatics - Ethyl benzene - Xylene - PAHs and NPDs Alkyl Phenols Dissolved hydrocarbons Readily Biodegradable Polar: - Acids - Alcohols (Methanol) Figure 3. Produced water composition. hundreds DA B T E X PAHs A Ph Polar APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 3

4 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin companies Hydro and Statoil (recently merged into one company Statoil) have been carrying out extensive studies and modelling leading to the definition of the EIF. They determined the environmental impact of each constituent of the produced water of each platform. Based on this approach they quantified the environmental impact of the produced water stream of each individual platform on its environment over the operational lifetime of the platform. Individual constituents contributing to the Environmental Impact Factor In Figure 4, the contribution of the individual components on the total EIF is shown for three different platforms in the Norwegian part of the North Sea. From these three EIF compilations, one can draw the conclusions that the contribution of each constituent varies significantly among platforms. Generally it can be concluded that PAHs, especially the NPDs (naphtalenes, phenanthrenes and dibenzothiophenes) at ppb level have the highest impact, followed by aromatics like BTEX and dispersed oil at ppm levels, then alkyl phenols and lastly the dissolved polar compounds contribute least to the EIF. These observations are supported by the results of a recent study carried out by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V., Rob Phillips Consulting Pty Ltd and Sustainable Solutions Services at the request of the Philippine Government. They studied the toxic impact of a gas and gas/condensate produced water stream (Shell Malampaya) on the environment and concluded that the polyaromatic hydrocarbons, especially the naphthalenes, and the BTEX, have the highest impact on the environment. Remarkably they found that the alkyl phenols do not have a significant impact on the water environment around the Shell Malampaya platform. This is different from the results of the Norwegian studies. This shows that both the composition and quantity of the produced water as well as the characteristics of the marine environment determine the environmental impact of the individual produced water stream. It may be the warm waters around the Philippines (average temperature of 20 C or higher compared to the 7 10 C in the North Sea) that cause the alkyl phenols to have a low to insignificant impact on the environment. Having observed that the dissolved toxic hydrocarbons like PAHs, BTEX, and alkyl phenols commonly have a higher impact on the environment than the dispersed aliphatics, the question arises: what technologies will greatly reduce the EIF? TECHNOLOGICAL MECHANISMS TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FACTOR Having concluded that the constituents contributing to the EIF are predominantly dissolved, it is clear that the basic physical and chemical mechanisms on which technologies are based, are fundamentally determining the potential effect of these technologies to reduce the EIF. This means that technologies based on flotation, gravity Compounds ppm Composition EIF*(1) EIF*(2) EIF*(3) Dispersed oil = Dispersed hydrocarbons = Dispersed Aliphatics = floating Dissolved hydrocarbons Toxic: Benzene - Toluene Aromatics - Ethyl benzene - Xylene - PAHs and NPDs Alkyl Phenols Dissolved hydrocarbons Readily Biodegradable Polar: - Acids - Alcohols (Methanol) * EIF = Environmental Impact Factor hundreds DA DA DA DA B BTEX BTEX BTEX T E X PAHs PAHs PAHs PAHs A Ph Polar A Ph Figure 4. Composition and emission targets. A Ph A Ph Meth Meth Meth and coalescing, which are aimed at removal of dispersed hydrocarbons, can only have a limited effect on the reduction of the EIF. For removing dissolved components, other fundamental mechanisms like absorption, adsorption, extraction, membrane filtration or oxidation have to be used. Techniques based on adsorption, like activated carbon or polymeric micro porous sorbents with big internal surfaces are certainly able to remove dissolved hydrocarbons; however, these technologies as well as membranes will be strongly negatively influenced by other constituents of produced water, such as emulsions, dispersed oil, surface active chemicals like corrosion and scale inhibitors and H 2 S scavengers. So far it seems that extraction-based technologies are more effective in produced water applications. Statoil has studied, calculated and compared the effect of different technologies on oil produced water streams of different platforms (Grini et al, 2002) whereby each technology was applied for one platform only. The calculations were based on the reported performances of the technologies and the EIF compositions of the individual used water streams. In that study it appeared that the MPPE technology had the highest reduction of about 84% of the EIF for oil produced water. It is clear that the reducing effect of MPPE on the EIF depends on the composition of the constituents that are contributing to the EIF. This will of course vary from platform to platform; however, the impact can be determined by the extent to which the MPPE technology can remove the individual constituents contributing to the EIF. For gas produced water streams, Statoil came to a removal of 95 99% with the MPPE technology. MACRO POROUS POLYMER EXTRACTION (MPPE) TECHNOLOGY As indicated in the previous paragraphs, the MPPE technology is basically a liquid-liquid extraction technology where the extraction liquid is immobilised in the macro porous polymer particles. The MPPE process has been specifically designed for optimal use of these MPPE particles in water treatment. 4 50th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10

5 Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with MPPE technology MPPE particles A scanning electron microscopic (SEM) photograph of macro porous polymer particles is shown in Figure 5. The porous polymer particles have a diameter of 1,000 micron, with pore sizes of micron. The porosity is 60 70%. These polymers were initially developed as controlled release media in medical applications. The application in water treatment started in Initially the macro porous polymer was used for absorbing dispersed oil from water. Initiated by the oil and gas industry, the idea emerged to develop a medium to remove dissolved hydrocarbons from water by immobilising an extraction liquid in the pores of the polymer. As a result this (patented) MPPE technology was developed in the mid 1990s. MPPE process In the MPPE water treatment process, hydrocarbon-contaminated water is passed through a column packed with MPPE particles. The particles are porous polymer beads that contain a specific extraction liquid. The immobilised extraction liquid removes the hydrocarbon components from the process water. The purified water can either be reused or discharged. Periodical in-situ regeneration of the extraction liquid is accomplished by stripping the hydrocarbons using low pressure steam. The stripped hydrocarbons are then condensed and separated from the water phase by gravity. The almost 100% pure hydrocarbon phase is recovered, removed from the system and left ready for recycling or disposal. The condensed aqueous phase is recycled into the system. The application of two columns allows continuous operation with simultaneous extraction and regeneration. A typical cycle is one hour of extraction and one hour of regeneration. Figure 6a shows a simplified flow-sheet of the MPPE process and Figure 6b is a photo of a full-scale MPPE installation. Figure 5. Internal structure of the macro porous polymer. FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 The MPPE technology can reduce dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons such as aliphatics, aromatics (BTEX), polyaromatic and halogenated (chlorinated) hydrocarbons with % removal (1,000,000 times reduction), if required. MPPE technology can be used for treatment of offshore produced water, process water, wastewater and ground water in a wide variety of markets including the offshore gas and oil, chemical, coatings and pharmaceutical industries. MPPE can withstand complex produced water environments containing salt, methanol, glycols, corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, H 2 S scavengers, demulsifiers, defoamers and dissolved (heavy) metals. Chemical constituents reduction with MPPE After the MPPE technology was developed, the first application in 1994 was actually on a gas offshore produced water stream of Elf Aquitaine in Harlingen (which later became Total, then Vermilion; Fig. 7). The MPPE separation performance was above 99% at 3,000 ppm influent levels from the very beginning for the target compounds (BTEX) and the results have been published in a Society of Petroleum Engineers conference (Pars and Meijer, 1998). At that time Elf Aquitaine had developed a specific steam stripper (Kloppenburg and Venema, 1997), but has abandoned that technology for produced water treatment due to costs and operational/ maintenance reasons. As legislation at that time did not formally require a reduction in dissolved aromatics (BTEX) or polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), it took a while before the MPPE technology was requested by the offshore industry. Nevertheless both governments (NOGEPA study on 55 technologies (Kaa and Petrusevki, 1988), OSPAR (OSPAR, 2004) and the oil and gas industry (Orkney Water Test centre (ERT/ Orkney Water Technology Center, 1997), were addressing the issue of dissolved aromatics and PAHs emission in produced water. The first offshore field test was carried out by NAM (Shell/Exxon) on L2 in the Netherlands part of the North Sea. It was a 4 month test with excellent results, which were presented at the 2001 Offshore Technology Conference (Meijer and Kuijvenhoven, 2001). Some more offshore field tests were carried out on gas/condensate produced water by Statoil (in Norway) and Shell (in Malaysia). The combination of successful offshore field tests at the end of the 1990s and beginning of this century and governmental pressure in the Netherlands has led to the installation of the first commercial MPPE units offshore, on the most critical platforms in the Dutch part of the North Sea (Total F15A, NAM K15A and K15B). These units have been in operation successfully since 2002 with a separation performance of >99% of BTEX, PAHs and aliphatics at ppm influent concentrations. Due to further developments in OSPAR regarding the issue of dissolved aromatics and PAHs emission, a formal investigation was carried out on request of OSPAR on oil produced water of NAM and Total (Meijer et al, 2004). Later an extensive offshore field test was carried out by Hydro on Troll B (Pollestad, 2005). In these field tests a APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 5

6 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin consistent reduction of >99% was observed for BTEX and PAHs. For aliphatics below C 20 a consistent reduction at 95 99% removal was measured in all field tests. For the total aliphatics removal the picture was mixed: 91 95% for Total and >95% for Troll B. A summary of the results is presented in Figure 8. The separation performance of the flotation technologies and the MPPE technology on the chemical composition of oil and gas produced water is schematically presented in Figure 9. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT/ TOXICITY REDUCTION WITH MPPE A real life case with Statoil and Gassco in Kollsnes (NO) SAME TOC (TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON) LEVELS, BUT BIOACTIVITY STOPPED Figure 6a. The MPPE process. In autumn 2004 a new gas/condensate production platform Kvitebjørn was tied-in to the gas treatment plant Figure 6b. MPPE unit at LBC Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Figure 7. MPPE unit at Vermilion, Harlingen, the Netherlands. 6 50th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10

7 Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with MPPE technology of Statoil and Gassco in Kollsnes, west of Bergen in Norway. The gas treatment plant at that moment was already treating gas/condensate from Troll A, B and C as well as Visund. Shortly after the tie-in of Kvitebjørn in October 2004, the biotreatment plant at the site ceased to function properly and by January 2005 nearly all bioactivity had stopped. This happened without any increase in total organic carbon content (TOC). AFTER MPPE UNIT INSTALLATION BIOACTIVITY RESTORED WITHIN 3 MONTHS After installation of a mobile MPPE unit in the beginning of 2005, bioactivity was restored within three months. Afterwards it was discovered that the toxic fraction of the influent increased significantly, while the TOC of the influent did not increase. Kvitebjørn produced water contains more toxic substances than the water from the Troll and Visund fields. The BTEX was times higher (600 mg/l from Kvitebjørn), PAHs were 10 times higher and alkyl phenols (C 2 /C 4 ) were times higher. Large variations in BTEX were observed especially during start up. The conclusion was that the biomass was poisoned due to the higher concentrations of BTEX, PAHs and alkyl phenols. BTEX content greater than 12 mg/l could be toxic to an unadapted culture (Bergensen and Jacobsson, 2006); MPPE removed BTEX and PAHs at design levels (98 99%) (Bergensen et al, 2006). Environmental Impact Factor reduction with MPPE The above real life experience with the MPPE technology supports the views of the Norwegian oil and gas industry and study results that the MPPE technology achieves EIF reduction. In studies carried out by Statoil of different technologies on different platforms (Grini et al, 2002; Buller et al, 2003), it was concluded that the MPPE technology was able to reduce the EIF by 84 to close to 100% for the targeted produced water streams (without floatation and coalescing pretreatment). Conventional flotation and coalescing techniques for reducing dispersed oil may reduce the EIF with 30% of the untreated water. The effect of MPPE and flotation techniques is schematically presented in Figure 10. The successful examples both onshore and offshore has led to the implementation of the MPPE technology by Hydro (Sjothun, 2002) and Shell (Salevik, 2009) in the prestigious Ormen Lange gas/condensate field project in Norway (see Fig. 11), which involves deepsea (1,000 m) gas and condensate production with gas treatment onshore (100 km from gas field) and distribution by the world s longest underwater pipeline to the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. Real life robustness of MPPE Figure 8. MPPE performance in offshore produced water. An example of the robustness of MPPE is shown in Figure 12 where the design values and real life analyses since 1994 are given for an MPPE unit treating gas produced water Figure 9. MPPE effect on chemical composition. Figure 10. MPPE effect on EIF. FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 7

8 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin Figure 11. Ormen Lange gas/condensate field project in Norway. and a mono ethylene glycol (MEG) regeneration stream. The design was to reduce dissolved BTEX from 1,500 ppm to <1 ppm. In practice influent levels of BTEX (dispersed and dissolved aromatics) from 1,400 7,700 ppm and aliphatics (dispersed and dissolved oil) from 150 1,437 ppm were reduced as a total to ppm in the outlet. ANALYTICAL PARAMETERS AND APPROACH TO PRODUCED WATER TREATMENT Analytical parameters It is clearly shown in the Statoil Kollsnes case that integral analytical parameters like BOD, COD, TOC are not specific enough to characterise the quality of the produced water with respect to its impact on the environment. The EIF seems to be the most ideal and comprehensive way of quantifying the environmental impact, but is not regarded as practical for monitoring on a periodical or daily basis. At present, gas chromatography possibly combined with mass spectrometry is the most appropriate technique to measure the dissolved toxic compounds BTEX, PAHs and alkyl phenols as well as the dispersed aliphatics on a daily/ periodical basis. The GC-MS technique helps to focus on the removal of the toxic content of produced water. An approach to treating produced water There seems to be a logical difference in the approach of treating produced water from oilfields and gas/condensate producing fields. This is due to the fact that for gas/ condensate fields the produced water flow rates may vary between 3 m 3 /h and m 3 /h with a very high dissolved toxic hydrocarbon content of 800 1,000 ppm. Oilfield produced water may vary from m 3 /h or more with lower levels (100 ppm) of dissolved toxic hydrocarbons. In treating oil produced water it goes without saying that conventional techniques based on flotation, coalescing principles will always be necessary; however, to reduce the toxic content, an adsorption or an extraction based technology like MPPE is needed. For oil produced water this can be done after passing through hydrocyclones or other flotation techniques and prior to letting the water flow overboard. 8 50th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10

9 Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with MPPE technology In gas/condensate produced water streams, studies have shown that MPPE can remove the whole spectrum of aliphatics, as well as the BTEX and PAHs. In this case MPPE can effectively be installed after the gas/water separator, a slug catcher or a simple plate separator, and the degasser. The condensed overhead vapors of the glycol regeneration, which normally contain very high BTEX loads, and contaminated rain water runoff can be combined with this produced water prior to MPPE treatment. In the Ormen Lange Gasfield no pretreatment, apart from a solids prefiltration, is installed. The MPPE treatment results in practically zero harmful emissions when the inlet concentration of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons is as high as of 800 1,000 ppm. In special cases like the produced waters of the Ormen Lange gas/condensate field and Statoil Kollsnes, after MPPE has removed the toxic content, the water receives biotreatment before discharge. The reason for this extra treatment is probably the fact that this is an onshore treatment and discharge is then taking place in the vicinity of coastal areas. FUTURE: REUSE OF GAS/LNG PRODUCED WATER On the Burrup Peninsula in Australia, Woodside is employing water treatment technologies in the Pluto LNG plant so that the produced water can be reused. The sequence of the water treatment technologies that are going to be used is presented in Figure 13a and 13b. In this remote area fresh water is scarce and drought conditions have increased in recent years. Using gas produced water that has to be treated anyway before discharge (CPI, MPPE) is considered a better raw water source than seawater. The Pluto Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) is being constructed and is planned to be started up in Presently, floating LNG plants (FLNG) are investigated in conceptual studies by the oil and gas industries. Floating LNG plants with a future of being positioned in environmentally sensitive areas like Australia or the Barents Sea and that have the potential to be relocated several times will need onboard technologies to secure zero harmful discharge. CONCLUSIONS Hydrocarbon emission to the environment through release of oil and gas produced water has attracted major attention worldwide from governments and operators. Hydrocarbon emission standards vary significantly in different jurisdictions, but they tend to target the toxic compounds. Present legislation is predominantly aimed at dispersed oil reduction. There is a definite worldwide trend towards reduction of the toxic content of produced water aiming at a minimal (or zero) harmful impact on the environment. EIF is a measure of the toxic content of produced water that depends on the specific constituents such as PAHs, BTEX, alkyl phenols and to a lesser extent on dispersed oil. Overall analytical parameters like BOD, COD, TOC are not adequate for identifying and implementing technologies that are specifically aimed at reducing the toxic content. GC-MS techniques can differentiate the toxic compounds and are appropriate analytical tools. Technologies based Figure 13a. Gas/condensate production and LNG plant (general concept). Figure 12. A real life example of design versus actual MPPE performance. Figure 13b. LNG plant waste water treatment and reuse scheme (general concept). FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 9

10 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin on fundamental mechanisms like adsorption, absorption, extraction or oxidation are required to reduce the dissolved toxic content of produced water to a minimum. Coalescing and flotation based technologies are often needed prior to these techniques. Current developments show reuse of gas produced water in future LNG facilities. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The basis of this paper is the series of field tests carried out by and on request of Elf Aquitaine, Total, NAM, Shell, Statoil, Hydro and OSPAR resulting in a wealth of information and publications. Individual contacts and exchange of views with the various experts from these companies, as well as their papers mentioned in my references, have been of great value. This paper would not have been possible without the help and support of Mrs Marijke Kuntzel for consuming the continuous stream of new drafts and her constructive comments. REFERENCES BERGERSEN, L. AND JACOBSSON, J., 2006 New Offshore Tie-ins and impact on Onshore Facilities, Field Case Kollsnes. Tekna Produced Water Management Conference, Stavanger, Norway. BERGERSEN, L., JACOBSSON, J. AND MEIJER D.TH., 2006 Solving the Impact of High Toxic Loads in the Produced Water at the Kollsnes Gas Terminal by Applying the MPPE technology. NEL Produced Water Best Management Practices, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November. BULLER, A. T., JOHNSEN, S. AND FROST, K., 2003 Offshore produced water management knowledge, tools and procedures for assessing environmental risk and selecting remedial measures. Memoir 3. Stavanger, Norway: Statoil Research and Technology Offshore. DALEN, A.V., 2004 Produced Water Regulations in the Netherlands. NEL Oil-in-Water Monitoring Workshop, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, September. ERT/ORKNEY WATER TECHNOLOGY CENTER, 1997 The removal of dissolved and dispersed organic components from produced water. ERT F92/178, requested by Exxon Mobil, Total, Amarada Hess. GRINI, P.G., HJELSVOLD, M. AND JOHNSEN, S., 2002 Choosing produced water treatment technologies based on environmental impact reduction. HSE Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March, SPE paper ITHNIN, I.B. AND CHRISTOPHER, G., 2006 The discharge of produced water from oil and gas production: Legislation requirement in Malaysia. NEL Produced Water Best Management Practices, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November. KAA, C.C.R. VAN DER AND PETRUSEVKI, B., 1988 Inventarisation of removal techniques to reduce the benzene heavy metal emissions from offshore platforms. (In Dutch). NOGEPA (Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association) and Dutch Government, Report KLOPPENBURG, M.F.C. AND VENEMA, W., 1997 Deoiling condensed glycol regenerator overhead vapours by steam stripping SPE/UKOOA European Environmental Conference, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, April, SPE paper no LOWE, I., 2006 Shaping a sustainable future challenges for Australia s oil and gas industry. APPEA Environment Conference, Coolum, Australia, November. MEIJER D.TH. AND KUIJVENHOVEN COR A.T., 2001 Field-Proven Removal of Dissolved Hydrocarbons from Offshore Produced Water by the Macro Porous Polymer- Extraction Technology. SPE Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April 3 May, OTC MEIJER D.TH., KUIJVENHOVEN COR A.T. AND KARUP, H., 2004 Results from the latest MPPE field trials at NAM and Total Installations. NEL Produced Water Workshop, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, April. MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, 1995 Declaration of Intent, Implementation of Environmental Policy for the Oil and Gas Industry. NOGEPA (Dutch Oil & Gas Exploration and Production Association), The Hague, the Netherlands, 2 June. OSPAR DENMARK, 2004 Definition of a data collection strategy for aromatic hydrocarbons by OSPAR Contracting Parties in 2004, OSPAR Background Document concerning Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practice for the Management of Produced Water from Offshore Installations. OSPAR meeting of the Offshore Industry Committee (OIC), Dublin, Ireland, March. PARS, H.M. and MEIJER D.TH., 1998 Removal of dissolved hydrocarbons from production water by Macro Porous Polymer Extraction (MPPE). SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Caracas, Venezuela, June, SPE paper no PHILLIPS, R., RIOS, A. AND CAYMO, A., 2006 Assessing the Risk from Discharging Produced Water to the Marine Environment. NEL Produced Water Best Management Practices, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10

11 Removal of dissolved and dispersed hydrocarbons from oil and gas produced water with MPPE technology POLLESTAD, A., 2005 The Troll Oil Case Practical Approach towards Zero Discharges, Troll Projects. Tekna Produced Water Management Conference, Stavanger, Norway, 18 January. SALEVIK, P., 2009 Onshore Water Treatment, Experience from Ormen Lange, Nyhamna. Tekna Produced Water Management Conference, Stavanger, Norway. SJØTHUN, S., 2002 The Process of Developing a Total Effluent Water Handling System for Ormen Lange. Tekna Produced Water Management Conference, Stavanger, Norway. FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10 APPEA Journal th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 11

12 D.T. Meijer and C. Madin THE AUTHORS Dick Meijer is managing director of VWS MPP Systems B.V. a business unit of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies STI, acquired from Akzo Nobel on 1 December He was one of the co-founders of this business within Akzo Nobel and since 1994 he has been responsible for the growth and development of the business. Dick started his professional career with Akzo Nobel in 1974 with the R&D salt and basic chemicals division. After five years Dick was promoted to the strategic planning of the coatings division. Upon completion of a further five year term, he became technical marketing manager BU protective coatings for three years. In 1987 Dick assumed the position of sales and marketing manager of the BU non wovens, before being promoted to corporate director for Akzo Nobel s strategy and planning for the chemicals, fibers divisions and mergers and acquisitions in Dick received a MSc in physical chemistry from Leiden University and completed various courses in business administration at the Technical University in Twente and marketing in Insead. Dick has presented various papers at international conferences in New York (Nobel merger), Caracas (SPE), Houston (OTC), London/ Vienna (ERTC), London/Aberdeen/Kuala Lumpur (various offshore conferences). Dick is a native Dutch speaker. In addition to his mother tongue, he is also fluent in English, German, Danish and has good knowledge of French. Chris Madin is the business development manager for the projects group of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Australia. Chris is a chemical engineer with experience in the processes and technology for the treatment of all types of water including wastewater, potable and industrial process water. Chris s focus is difficult industrial water treatment, including water from oil and gas operations, produced water, mining contaminated water, advanced desalination and similar processes. Chris has worked on projects in Australia and the USA, specialising on water treatment processes th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE APPEA Journal 2010 FINAL PROOF 2 MEIJER 10 MAR 10