You must log in to edit PetroWiki. Help with editing

Content of PetroWiki is intended for personal use only and to supplement, not replace, engineering judgment. SPE disclaims any and all liability for your use of such content. More information


Remediation of salt affected soils: Difference between revisions

PetroWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 9: Line 9:
*Corporate policies
*Corporate policies
*Environmental conditions
*Environmental conditions
=== Landowner and lease requirements ===
Consulting the landowner and lease requirements is crucial before any remediation process starts. Landowners will often have opinions on various remediation options. Cooperation with landowners should be a high priority due to the fact that a dissatisfied landowner may be in a position to complicate a resolution.
=== Regulatory constraints ===
Federal, state, and local regulations may pertain to various aspects of remediation of produced water spills, including spill response, vegetation, vadose zone, groundwater or surface water impacts, and possibly air emissions. Regulations may influence the choice of remediation technology and the associated costs. A technology which may be suitable for certain conditions in one state may not be well received in an adjoining state.<ref name="R1">Health, A.P.I., Department, E.S., Carty, D.J. et al. 1997. Remediation of Salt-affected Soils at Oil and Gas Production Facilities. American Petroleum Institute.</ref>
=== Corporate policies ===
Corporate polices may include certain specific or general protocols and criteria for addressing a spill.<ref name="R1">Health, A.P.I., Department, E.S., Carty, D.J. et al. 1997. Remediation of Salt-affected Soils at Oil and Gas Production Facilities. American Petroleum Institute.</ref>
=== Environmental conditions ===


== Salt concentration ==
== Salt concentration ==

Revision as of 15:46, 17 September 2015

Remediation of salt-affected sites can be performed for a number of reasons. Landowner claims; lease agreements; federal, state, and local regulations; reduction in long-term liabilities; company policies; and protection of useable land and water resources may be the driving forces behind the need to assess and restore a site affected by a saltwater release.[1] Water separated from oil and gas during production contains dissolved solids, including salts. If improperly handled, produced water with sufficient salt concentrations can damage plants and soils.

Remediation goals

Setting reasonable objectives for the remediation effort is critical to developing a viable remediation plan. In some cases, the objectives may be established by legal, regulatory, or lease constraints. In other situations, the objectives may be based on more flexible criteria. It is advisable to, at a minimum, review the following factors prior to initiating any remediation effort:

  • Lease requirements
  • Regulatory constraints
  • Corporate policies
  • Environmental conditions

Landowner and lease requirements

Consulting the landowner and lease requirements is crucial before any remediation process starts. Landowners will often have opinions on various remediation options. Cooperation with landowners should be a high priority due to the fact that a dissatisfied landowner may be in a position to complicate a resolution.

Regulatory constraints

Federal, state, and local regulations may pertain to various aspects of remediation of produced water spills, including spill response, vegetation, vadose zone, groundwater or surface water impacts, and possibly air emissions. Regulations may influence the choice of remediation technology and the associated costs. A technology which may be suitable for certain conditions in one state may not be well received in an adjoining state.[1]

Corporate policies

Corporate polices may include certain specific or general protocols and criteria for addressing a spill.[1]

Environmental conditions

Salt concentration

Salt concentrations of produced water from E&P operations vary from low salt concentrations to brackish water. Total dissolved solids (TDS) can range from less than 4,000 parts per million (ppm), to brines with salt concentrations greater than 100,000 ppm.[1]

Saltwater release

Total salt and total sodium concentration in a saltwater release can cause the soil to become saline and sodic. Produced water with high concentrations of total salts (salinity) and sodium (sodicity) can have a detrimental effect on terrestrial and freshwater environments. Excessive salts can create adverse chemical and physical conditions in soils and damage or kill vegetation.

Surface spills of produced water do occur as a result of:

  • Equipment failure
  • Pipeline corrosion
  • Weather
  • Human error

Disposal

Disposal of most inland produced waters is by injection into enhanced oil recovery or produced water disposal wells. Some inland facilities may use evaporation pits to dispose of produced water.

Injection

Evaporation pit

There are several types of pits traditionally associated with oil and gas production. Following are three types of salt-related pits:

  • Production pit - Used for saltwater storage, oil and water separation, and solids settling (Moseley, 1983)
  • Reserve pits - Used for solids separation during drilling and workover operations and for holding waste drilling muds and cuttings.
  • Produced water storage (emergency) pits - Also known as Produced water storage are constructed to contain produced waters tempo­rarily in the event of equipment malfunction.



References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Health, A.P.I., Department, E.S., Carty, D.J. et al. 1997. Remediation of Salt-affected Soils at Oil and Gas Production Facilities. American Petroleum Institute.