Membrane technology works on North Sea platform

Journal Article · Mon Dec 02 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Oil and Gas Journal

OSTI ID:404489

O`Donnell, K ^[1]

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1. Marathon Oil UK Ltd., Aberdeen (United Kingdom)

The world`s first sulfate removal facility (SRF) on the Brae A production platform in the central North Sea demonstrates the effectiveness of membrane technology with only a few minor problems caused by the retrofit nature of the installation. This is the second in a three-part series that details experiences with membrane technology on the Brae A platform that future users of this membrane technology can use for optimizing their SRF installations. Formation water in the south and central Brae reservoirs contains very high levels of barium ions. Consequently, there is a high potential for forming barium sulfate scale when Brae formation water is mixed with seawater. Because of high levels of barium, conventional methods for preventing barium sulfate scale with chemical scale inhibitors proved difficult and expensive, and are of limited value for protecting the reservoir matrix. Therefore, the Brae field required a process that could selectively remove sulfate ions from seawater yet retain most other salt components. Reverse osmosis appeared to be one option, and subsequent collaboration with FilmTec identified a membrane that would only pass particles of 1 x 10{sup {minus}9} m (nanofiltration) and smaller. This membrane permitted passage of most sodium and chloride ions but let only a small percentage of sulfate ions through.

• OSTI ID: 404489
• Journal Information: Oil and Gas Journal, Journal Name: Oil and Gas Journal Journal Issue: 49 Vol. 94; ISSN OIGJAV; ISSN 0030-1388
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
BARIUM SULFATES
DESULFURIZATION
ENHANCED RECOVERY
MEMBRANE TRANSPORT
NORTH SEA
OIL FIELDS
SCALE CONTROL
SEAWATER
WATERFLOODING