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SAES-A-012-Process Design Criteria For Produced Water Treatment and Disposal
SAES-A-012-Process Design Criteria For Produced Water Treatment and Disposal
Contents
1 Scope .................................................................2
2 Conflicts and Deviations.......................................2
3 References .........................................................2
4 Definitions and Abbreviations ...............................4
5 Overview ............................................................7
6 Overall Process Design .......................................9
7 Design Conditions and Specifications ................. 12
8 Disposal Water Pumps ...................................... 21
9 New Technology Applications,
Testing, and Deployment ................................... 22
10 De-bottlenecking of Existing
Produced Water Treatment Units........................ 23
Revision Summary................................................... 23
1 Scope
1.1 This standard provides the minimum mandatory requirement for the design of a
grass root produced water treatment and disposal units at Gas Oil Separation
Plant (GOSP) in Saudi Aramco.
1.2 The standard also provides the minimum requirement for debottlenecking an
existing produced water treatment and disposal units.
1.3 Exclusions:
● This standard does not apply to wastewater generated as a result of activities
governed by SAEP-327.
● This standard does not apply to wastewater that is regulated under
SAES-A-400, SAES-A-401, SAES-A-403, and SAES-S-020.
Any conflicts between this document and other applicable Mandatory Saudi Aramco
Engineering Requirements (MSAERs) shall be addressed to the EK&RD Coordinator.
Any deviation from the requirements herein shall follow internal company procedure
SAEP-302.
3 References
All referenced Specifications, standards, Codes, Forms, Drawings and similar material
shall be considered part of this standard and shall be the latest issue (including all
revisions, addenda and supplements unless stated otherwise).
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Page 3 of 31
Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
NACE Standards
NACE MR0175/ISO15156 Materials for Use in H2S Containing
Environments in Oil and Gas Production
4.1 Definitions
Dissolved Oil: It is the portion of total oil that is not removed by filtration.
Dissolved oil can be removed by biological treatment, chemical oxidation, or
activated carbon adsorption.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Formation Water: Water produced from Reservoir with Oil and Gas production.
Oil & Grease: It is the measure of total of dissolved and suspended “oil”
fractions extracted from produced water sample by an organic solvent.
PPM: (Parts per Million) When used in the context of water contaminant, it is
on weight basis and is sometimes interchangeably written as ppmw or mg/L.
Produced Water: Water produced from Reservoir with Oil and Gas production.
Suspended Oil: It is the amount of total oil that can be removed by filtration.
Suspended oil is total of free oil (already separated oil) and emulsified oil (yet to
be separated). A portion of the suspended oil is removed by physical separation
in produced water treatment units.
Total Solids: It is the term for the residue after evaporation of a sample and its
subsequent drying in an oven at 103-105°C. Total solids include total suspended
solids and total dissolved solids (organic and inorganic) and are reported in units of
ppm or mg/L.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Toxic Compounds: Toxic compounds are those specific chemicals that have
been shown to cause death or adverse effects to organisms at certain
concentrations.
WOSEP: Water Oil Separator for primary produced water treatment using gravity.
4.2 Abbreviations
API: American Petroleum Institute
BAT: Best Available Technology
BPD: Barrels Per Day
BS&W: Basic (Bottom) Sediments and Water
BTEX: Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene, Xylene
CDS: Closed Drain System
CFD: Computational Fluid Dynamics
CFU: Compact Floatation Unit or Cyclonic Floatation Unit
CPI: Corrugated Plate Interceptor
DCS: Distributed Control System
DGF: Dissolved Gas Flotation
DBSP: Design Basis Scoping Paper
ESI: Emulsion Separation Index to measure Emulsion Stability
ED: Electro-dialysis
EPD: Environmental Protection Department
FEED: Front End Engineering Development
FPD: Facilities Planning Department
GOSP: Gas Oil Separation Plant
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
5 Overview
Produced water is the largest byproduct stream associated with oil and gas production
from GOSPs. It generally includes:
The produced water from oil field continually increases. The water/oil ratio can reach
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
as high as 1:1 to 3:1, which is equivalent to water cut in production fluids of 50% to
75%.
The produced water is mainly Oil and TSS contaminated water. The removal of high
concentrations of these contaminants mainly happens in the upstream oil treatment
processes, like three phase separators, degassing tanks, dehydrators/desalters, etc.
The produced water leaving this oil treating equipment is designed to be less than
1000 ppmw OIW. However, if the oil concentration increases above this limit in normal
operation, the troubleshooting of the upstream water source vessels shall be attempted
first, rather than trying to adjust or redesign the produced water treatment plant.
For managing produced water in the oil field, the following options are generally
considered:
1. Prevent water production from oil field – Using water shut-off techniques,
e.g., injection of polymer gels to block water contributing fissures or fractures in
the reservoir or installing Downhole Water Separators to separate water from oil or
gas production streams in the Downhole and re-injecting it back to formations.
Any such measures must be approved by Production Engineering.
2. Dispose or Inject produced water – Treat and Inject the produced water into the
same formation or another suitable formation
3. Discharge produced water – Treat the produced water for direct sea disposal
meeting offshore discharge regulations, requirements of SAES-A-401, EPD and
LPD.
4. Reuse in oil and gas operations – Treat the produced water to use it for: desalter
wash water, drilling, stimulation, and work over operations.
5. Consume in beneficial use – Treat to meet the quality required for beneficial uses
such as: irrigation, land-restoration.
6. This water even though treated shall not be used for consumption and potable or
drinking water, or as utility water for humans and animals.
7. It may be used as utility water in industrial facilities for floor washing, in that case
it must be segregated from normal utility water (water that is not generated from
produced water).
The produced water treatment for meeting the disposal water specification for reservoir
injection is significantly important. It helps in maintaining the reservoir pressure and
facilitates oil recovery in a cost effective manner. It is necessary to treat produced
water and that helps to contain the injection costs for economical and efficient oil
recovery from reservoirs, extend field life, and maximize returns.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Treated produced water shall be the first choice for reservoir pressure maintenance/oil
recovery, supplemented by treated sea water injection as necessary.
6.1 The design of produced water treatment and disposal unit shall progress either as
a part of the GOSP or as standalone as the case may be, through various project
development stages such as conceptual study, pre-DBSP study, DBSP, Project
Proposal followed by Detailed Design and construction.
6.3 The design of produced water treatment unit should be viewed as any other
process technology where-in proper process design data is needed to meet target
treated water requirements in cost effective ways. The following key data is
required to conduct process design of produced water treatment system:
The above data shall originate from RMD/P&FDD and be provided to P&CSD
in a timely manner through FPD.
6.4 The sampling location, laboratory analysis program, flow rate information, etc.,
shall be planned in advance to define the contaminant concentration in the
formation water and desalter wash water. The collection and analysis of these
data into contaminant material balances shall be planned similar to designing the
GOSP facilities. Refer to SAEP-1663 and SAES-A-010.
6.5 Engineering contractor shall be kept informed about any ongoing technology
development and evaluation work for deploying new technologies. Any updates
regarding the new technology developments shall be provided through FPD for
incorporation in the design.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
6.6 The Base Case production option and other alternative production options shall
be finalized in coordination with FPD during Pre-DBSP study to help the design
of produced water treatment and disposal unit.
6.7 After the required data is made available, P&CSD shall proceed with produced
water treatment design.
6.8 P&CSD shall develop the Equipment List for the selected options of produced
water treatment and disposal. This equipment list will be included as a part of
GOSP equipment list by FPD to carry out the economic evaluation of all the
various options prior to finalizing the option for the development of the DBSP.
6.9 Simulations
6.9.1 Produced water treatment and disposal flow sheet shall form the part of
Steady State Process simulation model for the GOSP.
6.9.2 The simulation model for GOSP shall be based on the latest version of
the approved simulation Software package based on SAEP-363 and
SAEP-364.
6.9.3 The GOSP simulations shall be carried out for summer and winter
conditions at Design, Initial, 50% of Final Water cut and Final Water
cut, to determine optimal equipment sizing.
6.10 PFDs
6.10.1 Preliminary PFDs showing the heat and material balances for summer
and winter conditions of the produced water treatment and disposal
shall be developed for the following conditions:
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
6.10.4 Stream data for summer, winter, and design condition shall be
provided in the PFDs.
6.11 P&IDs
6.12 Similar to the GOSP, the produced water treatment and disposal unit shall be
designed for minimum 40% turndown. Due consideration shall be given to the
installed capacity of the pumps based on initial watercut forecast, to avoid
oversized pumps with recycle when water cut is low.
6.13 All produced water treatment and disposal unit shall be designed for Wet Sour
Service for potential souring of the production field during the life cycle.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
7.1 The flow rate of feed water to produced water treatment unit (Influent Water)
shall be based on:
The design influent flow rate shall be based on the water forecast of first
10 years of crude production. The design influent water flow rate shall match
with the GOSP design package.
7.2 The quality of influent water shall be confirmed ahead of the design. In the
absence of such information especially for the new GOSP, the data of existing
GOSP in the same oil field or the following influent water quality, whichever is
conservative, shall be used:
Oil and Grease, normal/maximum: 1,000 ppm/ 2,500 ppm
TSS, normal/maximum: 1,000 ppm/ 2,500 ppm
Influent Pressure and Temperature: As per GOSP design package
7.3 The oil particle size distribution in the influent water shall be confirmed ahead
of the design. In the absence of such information, especially for the new GOSP,
it should be sourced from the operating GOSPs of the same oil field, by lab
testing the produced water. The recommended particle size will be lower of the
above and API separator design.
7.4 The quality of treated produced water for injection and disposal into reservoir
shall be confirmed by RMD/P&FDD.
In the absence of such information, the treated produced water shall contain no
more than 100 mg/l of oil and grease.
The quality of treated water for tighter injection reservoirs shall be as specified
by RMD/P&FDD.
Note: OIW specification <100 mg/l will increase the cost of the project considerably
due to additional water treatment facilities; therefore, a thorough evaluation by
PMD/P&FDD is required before recommending OIW specification <100 mg/l.
7.5 The quality of treated produced water for the marine disposal shall conform to
environmental standard SAES-A-103. Refer to Appendix III.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
As the water cut increases for the mature offshore fields, the treatment of
produced water at offshore GOSPs and discharge of treated water to sea is
sometimes considered to offload the production pipelines and eliminate the
debottlenecking of onshore GOSPs. For this option, the water treatment systems
shall be designed to remove toxins to a level lower of the Industry and Saudi
Aramco Standards.
minimize pressure drop and turbulence that create stable oil/water emulsions;
use of treatment systems that reduce the content of oil, BTEX, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, and other components that contribute to the
environmental risk;
7.6 The typical removal potentials for selected produced water treatment
technologies are shown in the Appendix IV. The information contained in the
Appendix IV shall be used as guideline only since actual removal efficiencies
depend on several factors like:
7.7 The selection of produced water treatment technology shall follow the decision
steps stated in the Appendix V.
7.8 When primary water treatment is enough for achieving the target treated water
quality, the conventional API separator (API) or CPI separator design shall be
selected.
In this equipment, the separation of the oil, water and solid phases happens by
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
gravity per Stokes' law. The oil-water separation efficiencies depend upon the
particle size distribution, the specific gravities and viscosities of oil and the
produced water, the degree of emulsification of oil, the amount of soluble
organic present in the influent water and temperature.
The choice between the API and CPI separator shall be based either on the
criteria mentioned in Appendices IV and V.
The bulk liquid shall move horizontally inside the API/CPI separator with
near-laminar flow regime. In order to have an efficient oil droplet separation
and minimum re-entrainment of separated oil in the clean water, suitable
internals shall be provided for: feed flow distribution (e.g., Slotted Flow
Distributor), oil droplet coalescence (e.g., coalescing pack), settling of
suspended oil and solids (Baffles), oil and solids removal (e.g., Overflow
weir, Sand Jetting manifold/piping/nozzles).
The API or CPI separator work well when feed flow and contaminant load is
constant. Therefore, suitable design features to minimize the impact of feed
flow rate and contaminant load variations during normal operations shall be
considered.
Internal Split flow arrangement shall be considered with feed from the center
of the vessel, when the multiple API/CPI separator units are to be avoided.
The inlet nozzle shall be fitted with flow distributor to cover the central oil
separation compartment. The elevation of inlet nozzle shall be such that it
prevents the turbulence of solids settled at the bottom and oil accumulated
on the liquid surface.
The suspended oil shall separate out mostly in the central compartment which
almost 75% of the vessel Seam-to-Seam length. The separated oil shall rise to
the interface and overflow into oil collection trough/compartment through the
serrated edges. The elevation of Oil collection trough shall be adjustable to
minimize the high water contents in the recovered oil. It shall be cover the
length and longitudinal cross section of the liquid surface such that oil
removal from the entire liquid surface is complete without in stagnant zones.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
The oil trough bottom shall be sloped 1:200 towards the oil outlet nozzles
provided on the ends of the trough. Depending of the length of the oil trough,
minimum two oil outlet nozzles shall be provided located on the either ends.
The oil outlet nozzles shall have piped to outside vessel to flow the recovered
oil smoothly without plugging.
Water overflow baffles shall be provided on either ends of the vessel located
between the oil trough and vessel head forming the treated water
compartment on either ends of the vessel. These water baffles shall prevent
the short circuiting of influent water, separated oil/solids contamination into
the treated clean water. The water weir at each vessel end will be located
one vessel diameter from the vessel tangent line. The treated water outlet
nozzles shall be provided on either ends of the vessel bottom. The water
outlet nozzle shall be provided with vortex breaker. There shall be oil
skimming nozzles in treated water compartment at suitable elevation to
remove the oil separated in that section. The sludge/solids jetting manifold,
solids drain nozzles and water jetting nozzles shall be provided at the bottom
of central compartment to remove the settled solids on regular basis.
Wave breaker baffles shall be provided across the vessel to avoid turbulence
in the central compartment of the vessel.
Suitable supports shall be provided for fixing internals for oil droplet
coalescence.
The influent water piping and pipe fittings shall be such that the oil or TSS
particles are not sheared.
The separated oil collected in the oil trough shall be routed to a recovered oil
drum under pressure or pumped to upstream oil treating equipment
(LPPT/LPDT) to mix with oil stream.
The treated water from each ends of the vessel shall be connected to suction
header of the disposal pumps and onwards to water injection/disposal wells.
The horizontal velocity of the influent water inside the vessel shall not exceed
3 ft/min (or as recommended per API separator design).
One vessel diameter on both sides of the water inlet nozzle will not be
accounted for the gravity separation due to the potential of turbulence.
The height difference between the Oil weir and water weir will provide the
hydraulic head. The Oil weir height shall be adjustable.
The operating pressure of the API separator shall be such that the bulk of the
water separated from the production traps and dehydrator shall flow by pressure
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
difference; this is to avoid the pumps which cause shearing of oil/TSS particles
and affect the separation efficiency of the API separator as well as incur
electrical energy consumption for transferring the produced water.
API shall be blanketed with fuel gas to prevent oxygen entry into produced
water. The presence oxygen causes corrosive environment as well as
corrosion products which affect the separation performance of API separator.
Split range pressure control valves shall be provided on the pressurizing gas
and the off-gas from the API separator. A gap on the pressure controller
output will be provided between closing of the pressurizing control valve and
the off-gas control valve. The off-gas from the API separator shall be sent to
the LPPT compressor suction and excess gas will be flared. The LPPT gas
compressor shall be sized to receive 1 MMSCFD of gas from API separator in
addition to the LP gas from LPPT.
To avoid GOSP shutdown on extra High High level during disposal pump
shutdown, minimum 20 minutes water storage shall be provided in the
API/CPI separator.
This additional volume shall dampen out normal and peak flow variations as
well as contaminant load variations that come from upstream oil treatment
units. It shall provide nearly constant flow rate and contaminant load to the
produced water treatment units, thus reducing the impact of flow rate on
level control and that of contaminant load on the treatment unit performance.
Such design will lead to optimization of the size and cost of the produced
water treatment units, as these can now be designed for equalized flow and
contaminant load instead of peak flow and contaminant loads.
CPI separator is also gravity separator like API separator, but it contains
pack of plates as internals. The flow of influent water takes place between
the plates. The plates reduce the travel distance for the oil droplets to
separate from water phase. The plates also reduce the turbulence and
enhance coalescence of the oil droplets into larger ones that separate easier.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
CPI separators shall be preferred over API separator when the influent water
contains tighter emulsions and when the treated water quality is reliably
required to be < 50 ppm OIW.
CPI separator can remove oil droplets larger than 60 microns compared to
the 150 microns removable by API separator.
7.9 When primary produced water treatment alone is not enough for achieving the
target treated water quality for disposal into reservoir, secondary water treatment
technology shall be added in series with primary water treatment (the
downstream of API/CPI separator/WOSEP) for reliably achieving the required
stringent treated water quality. Liquid/Liquid Hydrocyclone, IGF or Media
filters are the examples of secondary treatment technologies.
Liquid-Liquid Hydrocyclone:
When used as secondary water treatment, it can be used in the following locations:
Formation Water Tank outlet
WOSEP outlet
Hydrocyclones achieve oil water separation by generating high centrifugal
forces, which separate the oil and water phases. The hydrocyclones therefore
require feed water pressure > 100 psig. Hydrocyclones are applied as water
treatment units when:
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Suspended solids are generally not separated in hydrocyclones during this process
and most exit the unit in the water phase with a small fraction leaving in oil phase.
IGF/DGF:
IGF/DGF use gas bubbles to remove oil droplets and suspended solids not
removed by primary water treatment.
In IGF vessel, the gas bubbles are introduced in the system by driving it into
influent stream either by impeller or by eductor. The gas bubbles capture oil
and suspended solids while rising to the surface. The oily froth is removed by
the skimmer and is recycled to oil treating units.
DGF differs from IGF by the method used to generate gas bubbles and the
resultant bubble sizes. In DGF units, the gas is dissolved in the slip stream by
applying pressure and is fed into the flotation chamber, where gas is released in
bubble form as the pressure is reduced.
Like primary water treatment technology, the efficiency of the gas flotation
process depends on: temperature. The oil-water separation efficiencies depend
upon the particle size distribution, specific gravities of oil and solids, the specific
gravity and viscosities of the produced water, the degree of emulsification of oil
and the amount of soluble organic present in the influent water.
Minimizing gas bubble size and achieving an even gas bubble distribution
enhances the removal efficiency. Gas bubble attachment to oil can be enhanced
by 1-10 ppm chemical addition. The higher salinity of water assists in smaller
bubble size generation. Median bubble size of 50-60 microns is attempted to
achieve desired floatation. Bubble size in IGF units is seen to be
100-1000 microns and in DGF units, it 10-100 microns. Around 20-50% water
is recirculated for contacting with gas.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
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Flotation works well for waters with both high and low TOC concentrations.
It is excellent for removing natural organic matter (NOM).
Despite theoretical benefits, DGF has not worked well in the oil field.
Media Filtration:
Media Filtration is used to remove suspended oil and solids that are not removed
by primary treatment processes. Refer to Appendix IV for the selection criteria
of Media Filtration.
Nutshell filters are special type of media filter made from ground walnut shells
and sometimes a combination of walnut and pecan shells. The nutshells are
better than sand or anthracite for oil removal since they are preferentially water
wetted and thus readily adsorb and desorb oil. Nutshells are cleaned by
backwashing with the influent water; whereas sand filters require large amount
of clean water for backwashing.
In addition to Appendix IV, the following information shall be utilized for the
design of secondary water treatment units:
When the target water quality requires oil contents below < 20 ppm,
secondary water treatment technology shall be applied in series with the
primary water treatment.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
7.10 The design pressure of the produced water treatment unit shall be at least 50 psig
above the operating pressure.
7.11 The fuel gas for the blanketing or floatation shall be supplied from the utility gas
pipeline.
7.13 Space shall be provided for future modules of produced water treatment and
disposal units to meet the ultimate water cuts. Provisions shall be kept to add
new technology components in the produced water treatment units to enhance
the operating performance or to boost the operating capacity without needing
major modification when water cut increases.
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7.15 High efficiency mixing devices shall be used when chemical injection is applied
in the water treatment process. Emergency eye wash and showers shall be
provided close to chemical injection skids. Refer to SAES-B-069.
7.16 The state of art online oil-in-water analyzer shall be used in the inlet/outlet of
the process for trending purpose. Refer to Appendix VI.
7.17 Online or portable particle size analyzer shall be supplied as a part of produced
water treatment equipment scope.
7.18 Water compatibility studies, material selection (H2S in disposal water) and
reservoir aspects to be addressed before a decision is made to commingle
disposal water with power water.
7.19 For the corrosion protection, all the wetted surfaces of equipment and pipeline
shall be coated as per CSD advice. Refer to SAES-H-001, SAES-H-002,
SABP-A-018, and SABP-A-036.
7.20 When chemical injection facility is provided in the water treatment unit, chemical
injection automation shall be considered. Refer to SABP-A-015 and SABP-A-037.
8.1 The treated water from the last produced water treatment unit (primary or
secondary, as the case may be) is pumped by the Disposal water pumps and
onwards to the disposal wells. The disposal pump is centrifugal type.
Refer to SAES-G-005.
8.2 The allowable wellhead pressure at the injection or disposal well shall be
confirmed by RMD/P&FDD. In the absence of such information, the disposal
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
piping is designed with an MAOP of 3,000 psig. The disposal Pump shut-off
pressure shall be below 3,000 psig. CSD (Piping and Valves Unit) shall be
consulted if higher MAOP of disposal piping is required due to higher injection
pressure. The piping design shall conform to SAES-L-100.
8.3 Variable speed motor drivers shall be considered for the disposal pumps to
achieve energy optimization.
8.4 These are high pressure pumps required to overcome the disposal/injection well
head pressure. Therefore, a combination booster and injection pumps or multi-
stage pump shall be considered.
8.5 Since the disposal water increases over the life cycle of the GOSP, the provision
shall be kept to add the required number of pumps in staged manner instead of
designing the pumps for ultimate disposal water capacity. 100% standby pumps
shall be provided.
8.6 Separate pumps shall be provided for the produced water injection and the
power water (aquifer water) injection systems.
8.7 The design and selection of the recycle valves for the disposal pumps shall be in
accordance with SABP-J-711.
9.1 Following new technologies are being developed in Saudi Aramco for the
produced water treatment. These technologies shall be evaluated before
considering for the deployment.
De-Oiling
− Absorption (organoclay)
− Walnut Shell Media Filtration
− Membrane Separation (ceramic, cross-flow, hollow fiber, vibrating)
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
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− Ion Exchange
− Electrodialysis (ED)
− Evaporation (Freeze/Thaw)
− Thermal distillation
9.2 Field Testing of new technology shall be carried out before deploying it in
commercial scale at Saudi Aramco facilities.
9.3 When field testing of already proven and globally deployed technologies is
waived, the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) performance guarantee
and physical performance verifications at similar worldwide facilities are
necessary.
10.1 Most of the existing GOSPs have only primary water treatment units (API/CPI
separators), but at some GOSPs, IGF and CFUs are lately installed. These are
not operational due to hydraulic limitations, low water flow rates. The capacity
of produced water treatment units shall be tested whenever:
Revision Summary
24 January 2013 New Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard.
1 January 2018 Editorial revision to modify paragraph 6.9.2.
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
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Appendix III - Treated Produced Quality for Marine Disposal (As per SAES-A-103)
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
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Produced Water
Typical Oil ppm Particle Size
Treatment Technology
in Outlet water Removed
Technology Type
Primary Water API Separator/WOSEP 100-250 ppm >150 microns
Treatment
Primary Water CPI Separator 50-100 ppm >60 microns
Treatment
Advanced Primary Hydrocyclone 15-25 ppm >20 microns
Water Treatment
Secondary Water IGF 15-25 ppm >25 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water DGF 15-20 ppm >20 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water CFU 15-20 ppm >20 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water Media Filtration 10-20 ppm >5 microns
Treatment
Advanced Secondary Chemical Flocculent 5-15 ppm >3-5 microns
Water Treatment with Hydrocyclone
and CFU in series
Tertiary Water Ceramic Membrane < 1 ppm >0.01 microns
Treatment
Tertiary Water Granular Activated < 1 ppm >2 microns
Treatment Carbon
Tertiary Water Diatomaceous Earth <1 ppm >0.01 microns
Treatment
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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
No
Page 28 of 31
Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
YES NO
NO YES NO Hydrocyclone
DGF and Media Is the oil limit Is the oil limit and IGF is
Filtration Required < 20 ppm? < 25 ppm? required
YES
Chemical Flocculent NO
Injection + Is the oil limit
Hydrocyclone + CFU < 10 ppm?
Required
YES
Page 29 of 31
Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Chemical Flocculent
Injection + Hydrocyclone + YES Is the Oil NO
CFU + Diatomaecious earth Limit <1ppm?
filters OR Ceramic
Membranes Required
Notes:
1. Yes/No decisions may not be absolute. They are meant to provide rough-order of magnitude decision.
2. If technology vendor challenges the technology decision, it has to further discussed backed by the
performance verification.
3. Some removal of TSS will always happen with oil removal, but extent cannot be predicted.
4. Polymeric membranes should be avoided as they foul and plug easily in oily water service.
Page 30 of 31
Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 1 January 2018 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal
Appendix VI - Industry Information for State of the Art Online Oil in Water Analyzers
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