Fate And Effects Of Nearshore Discharges Of Ocs Produced Waters Executive Summary

A state-of-the-art review of scientific knowledge on the environmental risk of ocean discharge of produced water and advances in mitigation technologies. In offshore oil and gas operations, produced water (the water produced with oil or gas from a well) accounts for the largest waste stream (in terms of volume discharged). Its discharge is continuous during oil and gas production and typically increases in volume over the lifetime of an offshore production platform. Produced water discharge as waste into the ocean has become an environmental concern because of its potential contaminant content. Environmental risk assessments of ocean discharge of produced water have yielded different results. For example, several laboratory and field studies have shown that significant acute toxic effects cannot be detected beyond the "point of discharge" due to rapid dilution in the receiving waters. However, there is some preliminary evidence of chronic sub-lethal impacts in biota associated with the discharge of produced water from oil and gas fields within the North Sea. As the composition and concentration of potential produced water contaminants may vary from one geologic formation to another, this conference also highlights the results of recent studies in Atlantic Canada.

For nearly a century, the energy industry had a profound impact on the Mississippi Delta, including both the natural and socio-economic systems. The purpose of this book is to describe the delta, how oil and gas (O&G) activities have impacted both natural and socio-economic systems and how much of the degradation could have been avoided. The Mississippi Delta formed over the past six thousand years but, in less than a century, lost 25 percent of coastal wetlands. O&G activities contributed significantly to this loss. O&G production began in the early 20th century and over 600 conventional fields were developed. Production ramped up rapidly, peaking around 1970, then declined. As O&G production declines, produced water dominates fluid production, and this high salinity brine is laced with a variety of toxins. Often, O&G was produced rapidly and much was left in the ground and is now technically and economically unavailable. With careful planning, this situation could have been avoided. The industry also affected the regulatory framework by weakening regulations, enforcement and impacts were not adequately addressed, and more profits flowed out of state. Thus, the state was economically and environmentally worse off. The industry should be compelled to contribute expertise and financial resources to restoration of the delta.

This book represents the proceedings of the first major international meeting dedi cated to discuss environmental aspects of produced water. The 1992 International Pro duced Water Symposium was held at the Catamaran Hotel, San Diego, California, USA, on February 4-7, 1992. The objectives of the conference were to provide a forum where scientists, regulators, industry, academia, and the enviromental community could gather to hear and discuss the latest information related to the environmental considerations of produced water discharges. It was also an objective to provide a forum for the peer review and international publication of the symposium papers so that they would have wide availability to all parties interested in produced water environmental issues. Produced water is the largest volume waste stream from oil and gas production activities. Onshore, well over 90% is reinjected to subsurface formations. Offshore, and in the coastal zone, most produced water is discharged to the ocean. Over the past several years there has been increasing concern from regulators and the environmental commu nity. There has been a quest for more information on the composition, treatment systems and chemicals, discharge characteristics, disposal options, and fate and effects of the produced water. As so often happens, much of this information exists in the forms of reports and internal research papers. This symposium and publication was intended to make this information available, both for open discussion at the conference, and for peer review before publication.