Chart of the month

With nearly 90% of Oman’s produced water being injected, it’s clear the country needs to find new management fixes.
 
This month’s chart comes from a presentation by the head of the Soil & Water Pollution Control Section of Oman’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Hilal Al Qassabi. Speaking at the Produced Water Society Middle East 2019 event, held in late October, Al Qassabi described how produced water is managed in Oman.
 
In 2018, nearly 90% of the country’s produced water was injected, mainly for enhanced oil recovery operations and then into disposal wells. Injection for disposal, especially into deep wells that require high-pressure pumps, is costly and energy intensive. It also represents the loss of a potential resource for the arid country which faces challenges related to water scarcity.
 
About 7.6% of Petroleum Development Oman’s produced water is sent to Oman’s flagship green treatment project. The Nimr reed beds are a constructed wetlands ecosystem that currently treat more than 1 million bbl/d at 1% of the energy required to pump the water into deep disposal wells.
 
Domestic oil production has averaged around 970,000 bbl/d in 2019 and is expected to rise to 1.1 million bbl/d by 2022. Considering a water-to-oil ratio of around 8-9:1, Oman requires alternative management solutions.