Environmental effect of produced water from North Sea oil operations

Somerville, H. J.; Bennett, David; Davenport, J. N.; Holt, Martin; Lynes, A.; Mahieu, A. P.; McCourt, Bill; Parker, J.G.; Stephenson, Richard R.; Watkinson, R. J.; Wilkinson, T. G.

doi:10.1016/0025-326x(87)90539-x

Cited by 87 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The Microtox EC50 values for the produced waters tested lay within the range of North Sea production platforms reported in the literature [7,9,10]. There is a general assumption that aromatic hydrocarbons contribute significantly to produced water toxicity [1].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Once produced water has been discharged, dilution will have the most immediate effect in mitigating potential environmental impacts of produced water [7]. Volatilisation and biodegradation are also important mechanisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A wide range of species have been used to investigate the toxicity of produced water (Somerville et al [7]; Stromgren et al [8]; Flynn et al [9]) including the marine bacterium Vibrio fisheri ( [7,9], Johnsen et al [10]; Whale [11]). The objectives have been to elucidate those components posing the greatest threat to the marine environment through an assessment of their toxicity and to compare the sensitivities of different test species.…”

Section: Produced Water Toxicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Studies of produced water toxicity using luminescent marine bacteria

Grigson¹,

Cheong²,

Way³

2006

WIT Transactions on Biomedicine and Health, Vol 10

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The main aqueous discharge from oil production platforms is produced water (PW). Produced water is contaminated with a range of pollutants including crude oil, inorganic salts, trace metals, dissolved gases, produced solids and oilfield chemical residues. Concern has been expressed on the impact these discharges, and particularly the dissolved oil component, may be having on the marine environment. In this investigation the toxicity of synthetic produced waters contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons was compared to PW samples received from the field using the luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fisheri. The objective was to correlate toxicity to specific PW components. Initial studies of individual oil components showed that both aromatic and aliphatic compounds exhibited toxicity. Naphthalene was the most toxic aromatic compound measured and cycloheptane the most toxic aliphatic. For benzenes, toxicity increased with alkyl substitution. Synthetic PW samples, based on the composition of those obtained offshore, had lower toxicities than the field PW samples. The addition of oilfield chemicals at dosage levels used offshore increased the toxicity of the synthetic PW mixtures, but not to the original values. Removal of the oil components by solid-phase extraction reduced PW toxicity in both synthetic and real samples. The results suggest that a range of hydrocarbons, both aliphatic and aromatic, along with heavy metals and oilfield chemical residues, contribute to the toxicity of produced water. Removal of petroleum hydrocarbons significantly reduces the acute toxicity of produced water. However, differences in toxicity between real and synthetic PW samples suggest that components other than hydrocarbons, heavy metals and oilfield chemical residues, are also influencing the toxicity of the effluent.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Produced Water Toxicity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Studies of produced water toxicity using luminescent marine bacteria

Grigson¹,

Cheong²,

Way³

2006

WIT Transactions on Biomedicine and Health, Vol 10

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“…It is usually a hot, saline reduced water that contains high concentrations of heavy metals, radionuclides, hydrocarbons and ammonia compared to the receiving environment. It may also contain process chemicals such as demulsifers and corrosion inhibitors added during the operation of the well (Somerville, et al, 1987). Despite the identification of a multitude of potential contaminants in produced water, regulatory guidelines for its disposal in Canada are solely based on the concentration of residual hydrocarbons (National Energy Board et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Somerville, et al (1987) modelled the dilution of produced water discharged from the Brent platform in the North Sea. For a 10,000 m 3 /day discharge rate, they estimated a 100-fold dilution at 50 m and a 2,800-fold dilution at 1,000 m from the platform.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation of heavy metals in produced water: Influence on contaminant transport and toxicity

Azetsu-Scott

Yeats

Wohlgeschaffen

et al. 2007

Marine Environmental Research

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Removal of organics from offshore produced waters using nanofiltration membrane technology

Dyke¹,

Bartels²

1990

Environ. Prog.

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The separation of oil and produced water mixtures from oil and gas producing w e b has traditionaUy been accomplished by gravity settlers (e.g., multi-phase separators, skimmers, andflotation ceh). However, current EPA regulations on the organic content of discharged produced water have reached the limits of these separation techniques. The industry is in need of new technologies to treat these waters. One such technology that we have found promising is organicslwater separation by nano$ltration membranes.

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Environmental effect of produced water from North Sea oil operations

Cited by 87 publications

References 11 publications

Studies of produced water toxicity using luminescent marine bacteria

Studies of produced water toxicity using luminescent marine bacteria

Precipitation of heavy metals in produced water: Influence on contaminant transport and toxicity

Removal of organics from offshore produced waters using nanofiltration membrane technology

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