Water is vital to our business. Exploration and production
operations yield three to four barrels of water per barrel of oil
extracted. Refineries use about one barrel of water for every
barrel of oil processed. As with any natural resource, we have
an obligation to conserve and use water wisely.
In 2006, we published a water sustainability position (
http://www.conocophillips.com/sd/water)
and issued guidance to our businesses on formulating
responsible water management plans. These include requirements
to monitor fresh-water consumption. The fresh-water
data will be used to develop strategies to reuse selected waters,
develop nonconventional sources where supplies are scarce and
further improve the quality of water produced or discharged by
our operations. Beginning in 2007, projections of each business
unit’s water use are being highlighted alongside conventional
economic metrics in the company’s annual planning cycle.
This brings a new level of focus to water management as a
fundamental component of our business planning.
In 2007-2008, we are mapping our global assets against a
database of water availability. This will show which assets are
in supply-constrained areas today, or could be in the future.
Produced Water
Installation of the CTOUR® purification process onto the Ekofisk platform. |
Oil reservoirs frequently contain large amounts of formation
water, which comes to the surface along with oil or natural gas.
This “produced water” can increase over time as the oil or
natural gas is depleted.
Produced water is not fresh-water. It is usually highly saline
and may contain hydrocarbons, minerals or metals from the reservoir and can have low oxygen content. It also can be
relatively high in temperature because of the depth from which
it has come. Managing its treatment and disposal is a challenge
for the industry.
Due to particularly stringent regulations in the Norwegian
sector of the North Sea, our local business unit has developed
extensive experience in technologies for handling produced
water. At the Ekofisk field in the North Sea for example, we
are investing $145 million in a produced water handling plant
to comply with the Norwegian government’s goal of zero
harmful emissions and discharges to the sea.
Instead of reinjecting produced water back into the Ekofisk
reservoir, we have chosen to install the CTour® purification
process, which removes hydrocarbons by injecting natural gas
liquids (NGLs) into the produced water. The hydrocarbon
components present in the water attach to the NGLs and are
then extracted. CTour® is designed to return all the NGLs to
the Ekofisk production stream, while enabling the discharge of
purified water into the sea. The treatment reduces the hydrocarbon
components in the water from 30 to only two to four parts
per million – a substantial improvement in quality compared to
that attainable with other technologies. The treatment works by
removing poly aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylated phenols,
as well as oil-soluble production chemicals.
Although conventional reinjection of the water was technically
feasible, it involved a high risk of reservoir destruction and loss of
reserves. We met with stakeholders to explain why we preferred
the CTour® process, which involved no risk to the Ekofisk
reservoir and offered high cleaning efficiency at reasonable
cost. Installation is expected to be completed in 2007.
In the U.K. North Sea, we have led a joint-industry project to
sponsor development of a new system for cleaning produced
water. During 2005 and 2006, we hosted the first successful
offshore trial of the AquaPurge® system, invented by an
Aberdeen-based company, Clean Water Systems Limited,
to meet more stringent discharge regulations for the region.
AquaPurge® uses ozone to oxidize oil and other organic
contaminants in produced water. It breaks down the
contaminants into water, small amounts of carbon dioxide and
mineral salts. In most cases, the carbon dioxide is dissolved into
the water along with the salts, leaving just water as the effluent.
During the field trials, the prototype AquaPurge® unit was
used for water treatment final polishing on our North Sea Judy
platform and reduced oil-in-water content by as much as
60 percent, from around 30 ppm, the current regulatory standard,
to less than 15 ppm. A commercial unit has been ordered to
replace the trial equipment in 2008.
In 2006, our North Sea business unit shared its expertise and
gained ideas from others through a symposium on produced
water handling. The event was attended by more than 70
ConocoPhillips delegates from around the world, along with
business partners and government officials.
Marine Water Management
Company representatives from Norway, the United States, Venezuela, China and Indonesia discuss produced water handling at a companywide
symposium. |
Ballast Water
A major environmental issue for international shipping is
the unintended transfer of marine species to non-native
environments through ballast water. Unladen ships take on
ballast water in port to enhance their stability at sea. When
this water is discharged in another location, it can introduce
invasive organisms which can harm native biodiversity.
To prevent this impact, our U.S. Gulf Coast tankers exchange
ballast water for ocean water only when they are well outside
coastal areas. This is in compliance with International
Maritime Organization guidelines which state that marine
species taken on at the source port are less likely to survive in
the open sea. Our U.S. West Coast fleet discharges all ballast
to an onshore treatment facility at Valdez in Alaska.
Bilge Water
In 2007, we installed EcoStream™ bilge-water treatment
systems on all our tankers to reduce the oil content of potential
discharges well below permitted limits. The new units replace
oily-water separators that already meet international standards,
and will thus take water treatment to new levels of cleanliness.
The new units separate oil and water in conjunction with existing
oily-sludge treatment equipment. The recovered oil can be
incinerated or stored for safe disposal onshore. The treatment
reduces bilge water oil content to less than 10 parts per million,
exceeding U.S. federal and international standards that allow
discharges into the sea of water with up to 15 parts per million
oil content.
Wastewater Treatment
In 2006, we began research at our technology center in Ponca
City, Oklahoma, on applying fundamental water chemistry to
further improve water reuse and recycling throughout our
operations, with an initial focus on water treatment technologies
for heavy oil production and refining. This effort includes a study
to identify the effect of varying the steam temperatures and
pressures used to recover bitumen from oil sands to minimize
the extraction of unwanted contaminants from the formation
and optimize treatment capabilities. The team also is evaluating
durable filter media that can effectively remove persistent
contaminants from water used in heavy oil production. Such
media can be regenerated, which reduces the quantity of solid
waste produced by conventional water treatment techniques.
ConocoPhillips 2006 Sustainable Development Report 19
In 2006, we hosted a two-day water management workshop at
Qatar University’s Environmental Studies Center in the capital city,
Doha, to introduce the concept of the Water Sustainability Center
to community and industry leaders. Presentations were made in
both English and Arabic.
Refinery Wastewater Management
Mike Corbett, a technician from the Bartlesville Technology Center,
collects a water sample from the selenium removal equipment. We are
testing this technology in our Rodeo refinery. |
Our refineries already recycle and reuse water, and we strive to
continually improve the effectiveness of our water treatment
systems. We recently conducted studies at several refining
facilities to better understand water-consumption patterns and
to establish goals for more efficient water use and better effluent
quality. Additional studies are planned for 2007 and 2008.
We invested more than $36 million on improved wastewater
treatment at our refineries during 2005 and 2006. For example,
major upgrades at Ferndale in Washington and Whitegate in
Ireland feature Moving Bed Bio-Reactor (MBBR) biological
treatment to achieve even higher standards of water purity.
MBBR is an oxygenated process which uses natural oil-eating
micro-organisms to clean the water by digesting contaminants.
It differs from other systems by employing a plastic granular
media which provides support for the bacteria to flourish,
improving the treatment effectiveness.
At the Rodeo refinery in California, we are testing a more
efficient technology to further reduce selenium levels in certain
refinery wastewater streams. Selenium is a naturally occurring
trace mineral found in crude oil. But its presence in high
concentrations in water can impact aquatic habitats. Laboratoryscale
tests showed the new technology may be more effective
than existing systems, which can be expensive and difficult to
operate. The ongoing pilot-scale tests at Rodeo have reduced
the selenium content of wastewater significantly, with the
added benefit of reducing other solid waste contaminants.
Data from the trial is being evaluated to determine the
feasibility of commercial applications in other refineries.
Other efforts look at ways to reuse water. At the Rodeo refinery,
we are working with the local water utilities to explore the
reuse of municipal wastewater by using micro-filtration and
reverse osmosis technologies to provide high-purity water for
various refinery processes. Successful implementation would
lower the demand for additional water. In the United Kingdom,
we have started construction of a water treatment unit that
will purify wastewater from our Humber refinery for cooling
purposes at the neighboring Immingham combined heat and
power plant.
Go back to top
(
http://www.conocophillips.com/sd/water)
Monitoring water quality at Grissik gas plant in Indonesia. |
As a responsible global energy company committed to
sustainable development, we recognize that fresh-water is
an essential natural resource for communities, businesses,
and ecosystems. Global population growth will increase
demand for fresh-water, and all users – domestic,
agriculture and industry – will need to effectively
manage supplies to meet demands.
ConocoPhillips produces and utilizes water in its
operations. We are committed to the development of
water management practices that conserve and protect
fresh-water resources and enhance the efficiency of water
utilization at our facilities. We will assess, measure and
monitor our fresh-water usage and based on these
assessments will manage our consumption and strive
to reduce the potential impact to the environment from
wastewater disposal.
Go back to top
In Canada, we are working to reduce water use for oil
sands production in Alberta. Oil sands refer to a layer of
sand that has become soaked in oil that migrated from
deeper rock. Over time the oil’s lighter hydrocarbons have
dissipated, leaving behind heavy bitumen. This bitumen is
typically extracted using steam or water to separate it
from the sand. At our Surmont project, we are using
steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology that
pumps steam into the sands, heating the bitumen until it
flows to parallel producing wells. Such facilities are
designed to recycle up to 90 percent of the water used
for steam. We are looking at ways to increase our water
recycle rate and use sources other than fresh-water.
In the Cessford area of Alberta’s Southern Plains as of
April 2005, we have eliminated fresh-water injection for
pressure maintenance of oil reservoirs. Previously, water
was drawn from the local river for injection into the Basal
Colorado formation. We have replaced this fresh-water
source with a saline source.
Elsewhere in Canada, we are minimizing fresh-water
usage by reusing water for well completion work in the
Brassey area of northeast British Columbia. Here we use
a low-viscosity water-based fluid to pressurize and
fracture the rock to stimulate gas flow. The fluid contains
a sand additive to keep tiny fractures open and create
pathways for the gas to reach the well bore. A typical
treatment requires 1,900 barrels of water. We have reduced
overall water consumption by reusing fluid recovered
from the well for up to five further treatments. With a
fluid recovery rate of over 50 percent, the practice not
only reduces water usage but also saves up to $30,000 per
well. Additionally, at locations far from water sources,
this technique reduces the amount of water that must be
brought in by truck.
Go back to top
In 2006, we hosted a two-day water management workshop at
Qatar University’s Environmental Studies Center in the capital city,
Doha, to introduce the concept of the Water Sustainability Center
to community and industry leaders. Presentations were made in
both English and Arabic. |
In Qatar, we are sponsoring a Water Sustainability
Center (WSC) with the long-term vision that it will
become a corporate center of excellence for water-related
technologies, providing services to our businesses worldwide
and to the Qatari people. Potential projects could
include research into new technologies for produced and
effluent water treatment and water supply for enhanced
oil recovery projects (injecting water into mature fields
to increase output). More general work could focus on
industrial and municipal water reuse, desalination and
agricultural water projects.
A longer-term goal of the WSC would be to sponsor
sustainable development projects that benefit the local
community, such as programs to encourage water
conservation, exhibitions and public or industry workshops.
Company representatives from Norway, the United States, Venezuela,
China and Indonesia discuss produced water handling at a companywide
symposium.
Go back to top
