Progress in Oilfield Water Research in Oman.

The petroleum industry has contributed to a rapid expansion of the economy of the Sultanate of Oman. As a result of such expansion, environmental problems, such as oil contaminated produced water has become a major concern in Oman. The volume of produced water is estimated to be more than triple that of produced oil. In the northern oilfields the produced water is re-injected into the oil bearing strata to maintain reservoir pressure. In the southern oilfields, where this practice of reservoir pressure maintenance is unnecessary, the produced water is injected into deeper water bearing strata. Apart from the high cost of disposal, the large quantity of water if processed may be valuable for irrigation purposes. This paper presents an overview of research done at Sultan Qaboos University in collaboration with the Petroleum Energy Center, Japan to remove the oil contamination from the produced water at an economically competitive cost. Results from alfalfa, Rhodesgrass and barley treated with the de-oiled water are also presented.