Engineering Standard

SAES-A-012 24 February 2013

Process Design Criteria for Produced
Water Treatment and Disposal
Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Table of Contents
1 Scope................................................................. 2
2 Conflicts and Deviations..................................... 2
3 References......................................................... 2
4 Definitions and Abbreviations............................. 4
5 Overview............................................................. 7
6 Overall Process Design...................................... 9
7 Design Conditions and Specifications………... 12
8 Disposal Water Pumps..................................... 21
9 New Technology Applications,
Testing and Deployment.................................. 22
10 Debottlenecking of Produced
Water Treatment Units..................................... 23
Appendix I - Simplified Schematic of Produced
Water Treatment and Disposal Unit in a
GOSP without Crude Stabilization Facility…. 24
Appendix II - Simplified Schematic of Produced
Water Treatment and Disposal Unit in a
GOSP with Crude Stabilization Facility.......... 25
Appendix III - Treated Produced Quality for
Marine Disposal (As per SAES-A-103)……….. 26
Appendix IV - Typical Removal Efficiencies for
Selected Produced Water Treatment
Technologies………………………………...… 27
Appendix V - Typical Technology Selection
Decision Steps............................................... 28
Appendix VI - Industry Information for State of
the Art Online Oil in Water Analyzers…...….. 31

Previous Issue: New Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018

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Primary contact: Koleshwar, Vilas Sadashivrao on +966-3-8809478

Copyright©Saudi Aramco 2013. All rights reserved.

Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

1 Scope

1.1 This Standard provides the minimum mandatory requirement for the design of a
grass root produced water treatment and disposal units at Gas Oil Separation
Plant (GOSP) in Saudi Aramco.

1.2 The standard also provides the minimum requirement for debottlenecking an
existing produced water treatment and disposal units.

1.3 Exclusions:
● This Standard does not apply to wastewater generated as a result of activities
governed by SAEP-327.
● This Standard does not apply to wastewater that is regulated under
SAES-A-400, SAES-A-401, SAES-A-403 and SAES-S-020.

2 Conflicts and Deviations

2.1 Any conflicts between this standard and other applicable Saudi Aramco
Engineering Standards (SAESs), Materials System Specifications (SAMSSs),
Standard Drawing (SASDs), or industry standards, codes, and forms shall be
resolved in writing by the Company or Buyer's Representative through the
Manager, P&CSD of Saudi Aramco, Dhahran.

2.2 Direct all requests to deviate from this standard in writing to the Company or
Buyer's Representative, who shall follow internal company procedure SAEP-302
and forward such requests to the Manager, P&CSD of Saudi Aramco.

3 References

All referenced Specifications, standards, Codes, Forms, Drawings and similar material
shall be considered part of this standard and shall be the latest issue (including all
revisions, addenda and supplements unless stated otherwise).

3.1 Saudi Aramco References

Saudi Aramco Engineering Procedures

SAEP-302 Instructions for Obtaining a Waiver of a Mandatory
Saudi Aramco Engineering Requirement
SAEP-327 Disposal of Waste Water from Cleaning, Flushing,
Dewatering Pipelines and Vessels

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

SAEP-363 Pipeline Simulation Model Development and Support

SAEP-364 Process Simulation Model Development and Support
SAEP-1663 Design Guidelines for Gas Oil Separation Plant
(GOSP)

Saudi Aramco Engineering Standards

SAES-A-010 Gas Oil Separation Plants
SAES-A-020 Equipment Specific P&ID Templates (ESPT)
SAES-A-103 Discharges to the Marine Environment
SAES-A-104 Waste Water Treatment, Reuse and Disposal
SAES-A-400 Industrial Drainage Systems
SAES-A-401 Closed Drain Systems (CDS)
SAES-A-403 Off-Shore Platform Drainage Systems
SAES-B-069 Emergency Eyewashes and Showers
SAES-D-001 Design Criteria for Pressure Vessels
SAES-G-005 Centrifugal Pumps
SAES-H-001 Coating Selection and Applications Requirements
for Industrial Plants and Equipment
SAES-H-002 Internal and External Coatings for Steel Pipeline
and Piping
SAES-J-005 Instrumentation Drawings and Forms
SAES-L-100 Applicable Codes and Standards for Pressure
Piping Systems
SAES-S-020 Oily Water Drainage Systems

Saudi Aramco Best Practices

SABP-A-011 Energy Conservation Requirement in Saudi Aramco
Engineering Standards and Material System
Specifications
SABP-A-012 New Projects Energy Efficiency Optimization
Review Methodology
SABP-A-015 Chemical Injection Systems
SABP-A-018 GOSP Corrosion Control
SABP-A-030 Energy Assessment for Efficiency Optimization in

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

GOSP
SABP-A-034 Plant Performance and Capacity Testing Procedure
for Upstream Crude Processing
SABP-A-036 Corrosion Monitoring Best Practice
SABP-A-037 Chemical Automation System
SABP-J-711 Selection of Recycle Valves for Salt Water Disposal
Pumps

3.2 Industry Codes and Standards

American Petroleum Institute

API SPEC 12J Specification for Oil and Gas Separators
API PUBL 421 Design and Operation of Oily Water Separators

NACE Standards
NACE MR0175/ISO15156 Materials for Use in H2S Containing
Environments in Oil and Gas Production

4 Definitions and Abbreviations

4.1 Definitions

API separator: Water/Oil Separator (WOSEP) designed as per American

Petroleum Institute guidelines. For this document, API separator is synonymous
to WOSEP.

Aquifer: An underground source of water from porous, water bearing,

geological formation.

BOD: (Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand) It is a measure of organic material in

water sample that can be biologically degraded. It is the quantity of oxygen
consumed during the biological decomposition (oxidation) of material in water.
BOD is measured over a specific time period (5 day or 20 day). BOD is
expressed in mg/l or ppm.

COD: (Chemical Oxygen Demand) It is the measure of the amount of organic or

reduced inorganic compounds in a sample that can be oxidized by a strong
oxidizer, usually potassium dichromate or potassium permanganate. COD is
expressed in mg/l or ppm.

Contaminant: Any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or

matter that has an adverse effect on air, water or soil.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

Disposal Water: Treated produced water for downhole/surface disposal/injection.

Dissolved Oil: It is the portion of total oil that is not removed by filtration.
Dissolved oil can be removed by biological treatment, chemical oxidation or
activated carbon adsorption.

DO: (Dissolved Oxygen) It is important monitoring parameter for biological

systems. It is expressed in mg/l or ppm.

Formation Water: Water produced from Reservoir with Oil and Gas production.

Injection Water: Treated Produced Water/Sea Water/Aquifer Water for

reservoir pressure support.

Nutrients: These are chemical elements (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous,

sulfur, cobalt, zinc and copper), which are essential for plant or animal growth.

Oil & Grease: It is the measure of total of dissolved and suspended “oil”
fractions extracted from produced water sample by an organic solvent.

pH: It is a measurement of the acidic or basic character of a solution at a given

temperature. It is defined as the negative logarithm (to the base 10) of the
hydrogen ion concentration.

Pollutant: Any element, substance, compound or mixture, including disease

causing agents, which after release onto environment and upon exposure,
ingestion, inhalation or assimilation into any organism either directly from
environment or indirectly by ingesting through food chains will or may
reasonably be anticipated to cause death, disease, behavioral abnormalities,
cancer, genetic mutation, physiological malfunction or physical deformation in
such organism or their offspring

PPM: (Parts per Million) When used in the context of water contaminant, it is
on weight basis and is sometimes interchangeably written as ppmw or mg/L.

Produced Water: Water produced from Reservoir with Oil and Gas production.

Suspended Oil: It is the amount of total oil that can be removed by filtration.
Suspended oil is total of free oil (already separated oil) and emulsified oil (yet to
be separated). A portion of the suspended oil is removed by physical separation
in produced water treatment units.

Total Solids: It is the term for the residue after evaporation of a sample and its
subsequent drying in an oven at 103-105°C. Total solids include total suspended
solids and total dissolved solids (organic and inorganic) and are reported in units of
ppm or mg/L.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

TDS: (Total Dissolved Solids) It is a measure of all dissolved material in

water. It is reported in ppm or mg/L. TDS is used to determine the salt levels in
produced water. Conductivity is sometimes used as a measurement of TDS.

TOC: (Total Organic Carbon) TOC is used to measure the quantity of

organically bound carbon in a sample. TOC is commonly used as a replacement
for BOD. TOC is expressed in mg/l or ppm.

Toxic Compounds: Toxic compounds are those specific chemicals that have
been shown to cause death or adverse effects to organisms at certain
concentrations.

Toxicity: This refers to the level of toxic compounds determined through

laboratory based studies, which results into the adverse effects to organisms by
exposing the organism for a predetermined periods like 24, 48, 96 hour test period.

TSS: (Total Suspended Solids) It is the amount of suspended matter removed

by filter. It is reported in mg/L. Inorganic particles such as clay or grit as well
as organic particles contribute to TSS.

WOSEP: Water Oil Separator for primary produced water treatment using gravity.

4.2 Abbreviations
API: American Petroleum Institute
BAT: Best Available Technology
BPD: Barrels Per Day
BS&W: Basic (Bottom) Sediments and Water
BTEX: Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene, Xylene
CDS: Closed Drain System
CFD: Computational Fluid Dynamics
CFU: Compact Floatation Unit or Cyclonic Floatation Unit
CPI: Corrugated Plate Interceptor
DCS: Distributed Control System
DGF: Dissolved Gas Flotation
DBSP: Design Basis Scoping Paper
ESI: Emulsion Separation Index to measure Emulsion Stability
ED: Electro-dialysis
EPD: Environmental Protection Department

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

FEED: Front End Engineering Development

FPD: Facilities Planning Department
GOSP: Gas Oil Separation Plant
HPPT: High Pressure Production Trap (2 or 3-phase separator)
IGF: Induced Gas Flotation
ISF: Induced Static Floatation
LPD: Loss Prevention Department
LPPT: Low Pressure Production Trap
LPDT: Low Pressure Degassing Tank
MAOP: Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure
MMSCFD: Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day
NOM: Natural Organic Matter
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer
OIW: Oil in Water
PAH: Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons
P&CSD: Process and Control Systems Department
PFD: Process Flow Diagram
P&FDD: Production and Facilities Development Department
P&ID: Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
PPS: Parallel Plate Separator
RMD: Reservoir Management Department
RO: Reverse Osmosis
TPS: Tilted Plate Separator
TT: Temperature Transmitter

5 Overview

Produced water is the largest byproduct stream associated with oil and gas production
from GOSPs. It generally includes:
 Water separated in Oil and Gas Separators (HPPTs, LPPTs, LPDTs)
 Water separated in Dehydrator/Desalters
 Wash water used in Desalting

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

 Recovered water from closed drain system

 Chemicals added during the production and treatment processes.

The produced water from oil field continually increases. The water/oil ratio can reach
as high as 1:1 to 3:1, which is equivalent to water cut in production fluids of 50% to
75%.

The produced water is mainly Oil and TSS contaminated water. The removal of high
concentrations of these contaminants mainly happens in the upstream oil treatment
processes, like three phase separators, degassing tanks, dehydrators/desalters, etc.
The produced water leaving this oil treating equipment is designed to be less than
1000 ppmw OIW. However, if the oil concentration increases above this limit in normal
operation, the troubleshooting of the upstream water source vessels shall be attempted
first, rather than trying to adjust or redesign the produced water treatment plant.

For managing produced water in the oil field, the following options are generally
considered:
1. Prevent water production from oil field – Using water shut-off techniques,
e.g., injection of polymer gels to block water contributing fissures or fractures in
the reservoir or installing Downhole Water Separators to separate water from oil or
gas production streams in the Downhole and re-injecting it back to formations.
Any such measures must be approved by Production Engineering.
2. Dispose or Inject produced water – Treat and Inject the produced water into the
same formation or another suitable formation
3. Discharge produced water – Treat the produced water for direct sea disposal
meeting offshore discharge regulations, requirements of SAES-A-401, EPD and
LPD.
4. Reuse in oil and gas operations – Treat the produced water to use it for: desalter
wash water, drilling, stimulation, and work over operations.
5. Consume in beneficial use – Treat to meet the quality required for beneficial uses
such as: irrigation, land-restoration.
6. This water even though treated shall not be used for consumption and potable or
drinking water, or as utility water for humans and animals.
7. It may be used as utility water in industrial facilities for floor washing, in that case
it must be segregated from normal utility water (water that is not generated from
produced water).

This standard addresses items 2 and 3 above.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

The produced water treatment for meeting the disposal water specification for reservoir
injection is significantly important. It helps in maintaining the reservoir pressure and
facilitates oil recovery in a cost effective manner. It is necessary to treat produced
water and that helps to contain the injection costs for economical and efficient oil
recovery from reservoirs, extend field life, and maximize returns.

Treated produced water shall be the first choice for reservoir pressure maintenance/oil
recovery, supplemented by treated sea water injection as necessary.

6 Overall Process Design

6.1 The design of produced water treatment and disposal unit shall progress either as
a part of the GOSP or as standalone as the case may be, through various project
development stages such as conceptual study, pre-DBSP study, DBSP, Project
Proposal followed by Detailed Design and construction.

6.2 A comprehensive review of produced water sources, flow rates, source

assessment and lab analysis shall be performed before facilities are designed.

6.3 The design of produced water treatment unit should be viewed as any other
process technology where-in proper process design data is needed to meet target
treated water requirements in cost effective ways. The following key data is
required to conduct process design of produced water treatment system:
 Crude/Gas/Water production forecast
 Geo-chemical analysis of formation water and desalter wash water
 The destination of produced water disposal (Disposal or pressure maintenance)
 Injection wellhead pressure
 Water quality required for disposal or injection
 The location of injection wells
 Injection water flow rate per well
 Compatibility tests with sea water when used along with sea water (typically
performed by R&DC).

The above data shall originate from RMD/P&FDD and be provided to P&CSD
in a timely manner through FPD.

6.4 The sampling location, laboratory analysis program, flow rate information, etc.,
shall be planned in advance to define the contaminant concentration in the
formation water and desalter wash water. The collection and analysis of these
data into contaminant material balances shall be planned similar to designing the

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

GOSP facilities. Refer to SAEP-1663 and SAES-A-010.

6.5 Engineering contractor shall be kept informed about any ongoing technology
development and evaluation work for deploying new technologies. Any updates
regarding the new technology developments shall be provided through FPD for
incorporation in the design.

6.6 The Base Case production option and other alternative production options shall
be finalized in coordination with FPD during Pre-DBSP study to help the design
of produced water treatment and disposal unit.

6.7 After the required data is made available, P&CSD shall proceed with produced
water treatment design.

6.8 P&CSD shall develop the Equipment List for the selected options of produced
water treatment and disposal. This equipment list will be included as a part of
GOSP equipment list by FPD to carry out the economic evaluation of all the
various options prior to finalizing the option for the development of the DBSP.

6.9 Simulations

6.9.1 Produced water treatment and disposal flow sheet shall form the part of
Steady State Process simulation model for the GOSP.

6.9.2 The simulation model for the GOSP shall be based on the latest version
of the approved simulation Software package based on SAEP-363 and
SAEP-364. The Process simulation software package that will be used
in the project shall be concurred by P&CSD.

6.9.3 The GOSP simulations shall be carried out for summer and winter
conditions at Design, Initial, 50% of Final Water cut and Final Water
cut, to determine optimal equipment sizing.

6.10 PFDs

6.10.1 Preliminary PFDs showing the heat and material balances for summer
and winter conditions of the produced water treatment and disposal
shall be developed for the following conditions:
 Design Water Cut
 Initial Water cut
 50% of Final Water Cut
 Final Water Cut

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

6.10.2 Energy Optimization Assessment study of GOSPs shall

cover the produced water treatment and disposal unit. The energy
optimization shall be conducted based on preliminary PFDs and satisfy
all operating conditions. Refer to SABP-A-011, SABP-A-012 and
SABP-A-030.
Note: Energy from separated produced water shall also be recovered
where feasible.

6.10.3 The simulations and PFDs to be finalized after completing Energy

Optimization.

6.10.4 Stream Data for summer, winter and Design condition shall be
provided in the PFDs.

6.11 P&IDs

6.11.1 SAES-A-020 shall be used as a building block to develop the project

P&IDs for produced water treatment and disposal unit.

6.11.2 SAES-J-005 provides the Instrument data to be included in the P&IDs.

The following additional instrument data shall be included in the P&IDs:
a) Orifices- Orifice Bore and Flow Transmitter Range
b) Control Valves- Tight Shut-Off requirement
c) Level Transmitter- Type of level transmitter, Calibration Range
d) Additionally, the vessel template shall show the various level
alarm settings as height from vessel bottom for horizontal vessels
and Tan line for Vertical vessels. Level alarm settings shall be
shown as percentage in DCS block or display.
e) Level Gauge- Type of Level Gauge, backlighting requirement
f) Temperature Transmitter- Type of TT and Range. Alarm setting
on the DCS block or display
g) Temperature Gauge- Range of Temperature Gauge
h) Pressure transmitter/gauge- Range of the pressure
transmitter/gauge. Alarm settings on the DCS block.
i) All shutdown switch settings
j) All shutdown Alarms shall be shown connected to the Sequence
of Events Recorder.

6.12 Similar to the GOSP, the produced water treatment and disposal unit shall be
designed for minimum 40% turndown. Due consideration shall be given to the

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

installed capacity of the pumps based on initial watercut forecast, to avoid

oversized pumps with recycle when water cut is low.

6.13 All produced water treatment and disposal unit shall be designed for Wet Sour
Service for potential souring of the production field during the life cycle.

7 Design Conditions and Specifications

7.1 The flow rate of feed water to produced water treatment unit (Influent Water)
shall be based on:
 The design water cut considered for the GOSP design
 The design wash water flow rate considered for dehydrator/desalter of the
GOSP.
 Design margin if any for other miscellaneous water streams from the GOSP.

The design influent flow rate shall be based on the water forecast of first
10 years of crude production. The design influent water flow rate shall match
with the GOSP design package.

7.2 The quality of influent water shall be confirmed ahead of the design. In the
absence of such information especially for the new GOSP, the data of existing
GOSP in the same oil field or the following influent water quality, whichever is
conservative, shall be used:
Oil and Grease, normal/maximum: 1000 ppm/ 2500 ppm
TSS, normal/maximum: 1000 ppm/ 2500 ppm
Influent Pressure and Temperature: As per GOSP design package

7.3 The oil particle size distribution in the influent water shall be confirmed ahead
of the design. In the absence of such information, especially for the new GOSP,
it should be sourced from the operating GOSPs of the same oil field, by lab
testing the produced water. The recommended particle size will be lower of the
above and API separator design.

7.4 The quality of treated produced water for injection and disposal into reservoir
shall be confirmed by RMD/P&FDD.

In the absence of such information, the treated produced water shall contain no
more than 100 mg/l of oil and grease.

The quality of treated water for tighter injection reservoirs shall be as specified
by RMD/P&FDD.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

Note: OIW specification <100 mg/l will increase the cost of the project considerably
due to additional water treatment facilities; therefore, a thorough evaluation by
PMD/P&FDD is required before recommending OIW specification <100 mg/l.

7.5 The quality of treated produced water for the marine disposal shall conform to
environmental standard SAES-A-103. Refer to Appendix III.

As the water cut increases for the mature offshore fields, the treatment of
produced water at offshore GOSPs and discharge of treated water to sea is
sometimes considered to offload the production pipelines and eliminate the
debottlenecking of onshore GOSPs. For this option, the water treatment systems
shall be designed to remove toxins to a level lower of the Industry and Saudi
Aramco Standards.

The following measures should be considered to optimize the treatment process:

 the expected composition of produced water shall be identified, and natural
components and added chemicals known to contribute to the environmental
risk shall be assessed in terms of concentration and load;
 minimize pressure drop and turbulence that create stable oil/water emulsions;
 use of treatment systems that reduce the content of oil, BTEX, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, and other components that contribute to the
environmental risk;
 the back-up systems for critical components in treatment systems should be
considered in order to maintain continuous operation during maintenance
activities and keep discharges within limits.

7.6 The typical removal potentials for selected produced water treatment
technologies are shown in the Appendix IV. The information contained in the
Appendix IV shall be used as guideline only since actual removal efficiencies
depend on several factors like:
 influent quality variability
 flow variability
 upstream droplet shearing
 impact of chemicals on emulsion tightness
 oil quality (light, medium, heavy, extra light)
 fluid temperature
 equipment design.

7.7 The selection of produced water treatment technology shall follow the decision
steps stated in the Appendix V.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

7.8 When primary water treatment is enough for achieving the target treated water
quality, the conventional API separator (API) or CPI separator design shall be
selected.
In this equipment, the separation of the oil, water and solid phases happens by
gravity per Stokes' law. The oil-water separation efficiencies depend upon the
particle size distribution, the specific gravities and viscosities of oil and the
produced water, the degree of emulsification of oil, the amount of soluble
organic present in the influent water and temperature.

The choice between the API and CPI separator shall be based either on the
criteria mentioned in Appendices IV and V.

The following information shall be utilized in the design of primary water

treatment units (API/CPI separators) besides the relevant information from
API standards (API SPEC 12J and API PUBL 421):
 The conventional API/CPI separator is a horizontal cylindrical pressure
vessel. Refer to SAES-D-001.
 The design of the API/CPI separator shall be confirmed by CFD modeling
software.
 The bulk liquid shall move horizontally inside the API/CPI separator with
near-laminar flow regime. In order to have an efficient oil droplet separation
and minimum re-entrainment of separated oil in the clean water, suitable
internals shall be provided for: feed flow distribution (e.g., Slotted Flow
Distributor), oil droplet coalescence (e.g., coalescing pack), settling of
suspended oil and solids (Baffles), oil and solids removal (e.g., Overflow
weir, Sand Jetting manifold/piping/nozzles).
 The API or CPI separator work well when feed flow and contaminant load is
constant. Therefore, suitable design features to minimize the impact of feed
flow rate and contaminant load variations during normal operations shall be
considered.
 Internal Split flow arrangement shall be considered with feed from the center
of the vessel, when the multiple API/CPI separator units are to be avoided.
 The inlet nozzle shall be fitted with flow distributor to cover the central oil
separation compartment. The elevation of inlet nozzle shall be such that it
prevents the turbulence of solids settled at the bottom and oil accumulated
on the liquid surface.
 The suspended oil shall separate out mostly in the central compartment which
almost 75% of the vessel Seam-to-Seam length. The separated oil shall rise to

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
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Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

the interface and overflow into oil collection trough/compartment through the
serrated edges. The elevation of Oil collection trough shall be adjustable to
minimize the high water contents in the recovered oil. It shall be cover the
length and longitudinal cross section of the liquid surface such that oil
removal from the entire liquid surface is complete without in stagnant zones.
The oil trough bottom shall be sloped 1:200 towards the oil outlet nozzles
provided on the ends of the trough. Depending of the length of the oil trough,
minimum two oil outlet nozzles shall be provided located on the either ends.
The oil outlet nozzles shall have piped to outside vessel to flow the recovered
oil smoothly without plugging.
 Water overflow baffles shall be provided on either ends of the vessel located
between the oil trough and vessel head forming the treated water
compartment on either ends of the vessel. These water baffles shall prevent
the short circuiting of influent water, separated oil/solids contamination into
the treated clean water. The water weir at each vessel end will be located
one vessel diameter from the vessel tangent line. The treated water outlet
nozzles shall be provided on either ends of the vessel bottom. The water
outlet nozzle shall be provided with vortex breaker. There shall be oil
skimming nozzles in treated water compartment at suitable elevation to
remove the oil separated in that section. The sludge/solids jetting manifold,
solids drain nozzles and water jetting nozzles shall be provided at the bottom
of central compartment to remove the settled solids on regular basis.
 Wave breaker baffles shall be provided across the vessel to avoid turbulence
in the central compartment of the vessel.
 Suitable supports shall be provided for fixing internals for oil droplet
coalescence.
 The influent water piping and pipe fittings shall be such that the oil or TSS
particles are not sheared.
 The separated oil collected in the oil trough shall be routed to a recovered oil
drum under pressure or pumped to upstream oil treating equipment
(LPPT/LPDT) to mix with oil stream.
 The treated water from each ends of the vessel shall be connected to suction
header of the disposal pumps and onwards to water injection/disposal wells.
 The horizontal velocity of the influent water inside the vessel shall not exceed
3 ft/min (or as recommended per API separator design).
 One vessel diameter on both sides of the water inlet nozzle will not be
accounted for the gravity separation due to the potential of turbulence.

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Document Responsibility: Process Engineering Standards Committee SAES-A-012
Issue Date: 24 February 2013 Process Design Criteria for Produced
Next Planned Update: 24 February 2018 Water Treatment and Disposal

 The height difference between the Oil weir and water weir will provide the
hydraulic head. The Oil weir height shall be adjustable.
 The operating pressure of the API separator shall be such that the bulk of the
water separated from the production traps and dehydrator shall flow by pressure
difference; this is to avoid the pumps which cause shearing of oil/TSS particles
and affect the separation efficiency of the API separator as well as incur
electrical energy consumption for transferring the produced water.
 API shall be blanketed with fuel gas to prevent oxygen entry into produced
water. The presence oxygen causes corrosive environment as well as
corrosion products which affect the separation performance of API separator.
 Split range pressure control valves shall be provided on the pressurizing gas
and the off-gas from the API separator. A gap on the pressure controller
output will be provided between closing of the pressurizing control valve and
the off-gas control valve. The off-gas from the API separator shall be sent to
the LPPT compressor suction and excess gas will be flared. The LPPT gas
compressor shall be sized to receive 1 MMSCFD of gas from API separator in
addition to the LP gas from LPPT.
 To avoid GOSP shutdown on extra High High level during disposal pump
shutdown, minimum 20 minutes water storage shall be provided in the
API/CPI separator.
 The provision of additional volume in the API/CPI separator or in a separate
additional tank in the upstream of API/CPI separator shall be considered in
order to serve as a surge capacity as well as for equalization of flow
variations and contaminant load. If provided as a separate tank, it shall be
blanketed by gas.

This additional volume shall dampen out normal and peak flow variations as
well as contaminant load variations that come from upstream oil treatment
units. It shall provide nearly constant flow rate and contaminant load to the
produced water treatment units, thus reducing the impact of flow rate on
level control and that of contaminant load on the treatment unit performance.
Such design will lead to optimization of the size and cost of the produced
water treatment units, as these can now be designed for equalized flow and
contaminant load instead of peak flow and contaminant loads.
 CPI (Corrugated Plate Interceptor) separator is sometimes used in place of
API separator. They are alternatively named as Parallel Plate separator
(PPS), Tilted Plate separator (TPS).
 CPI separator is also gravity separator like API separator, but it contains
pack of plates as internals. The flow of influent water takes place between

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the plates. The plates reduce the travel distance for the oil droplets to
separate from water phase. The plates also reduce the turbulence and
enhance coalescence of the oil droplets into larger ones that separate easier.
 CPI separators shall be preferred over API separator when the influent water
contains tighter emulsions and when the treated water quality is reliably
required to be < 50 ppm OIW.
 CPI separator can remove oil droplets larger than 60 microns compared to
the 150 microns removable by API separator.
 CPI separators require relatively smaller foot print as compared to API
separator.

7.9 When primary produced water treatment alone is not enough for achieving the
target treated water quality for disposal into reservoir, secondary water treatment
technology shall be added in series with primary water treatment (the
downstream of API/CPI separator/WOSEP) for reliably achieving the required
stringent treated water quality. Liquid/Liquid Hydrocyclone, IGF or Media
filters are the examples of secondary treatment technologies.

Liquid-Liquid Hydrocyclone:

Liquid-Liquid Hydrocyclone technology falls between primary and secondary

treatment, categories and is used as primary as well as secondary treatment. It is
therefore sometimes classified as advanced primary treatment technology.
Refer to Appendix IV for the selection criteria of Liquid-Liquid Hydrocyclones.

When used as primary water treatment, Hydrocyclones can be used in the

following locations:
 HPPT water outlet
 Dehydrator/Desalter water outlet
 WOSEP inlet

When used as secondary water treatment, it can be used in the following locations:
 Formation Water Tank outlet
 WOSEP outlet
Hydrocyclones achieve oil water separation by generating high centrifugal
forces, which separate the oil and water phases. The hydrocyclones therefore
require feed water pressure > 100 psig. Hydrocyclones are applied as water
treatment units when:
 Median particle size > 30 microns

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 Feed water pressure > 100 psig

 Not much suspended solids in feed
 Not much free gas in feed
 Flow rate and oil contents is fairly constant
 Low equipment maintenance is desired

Suspended solids are generally not separated in hydrocyclones during this process
and most exit the unit in the water phase with a small fraction leaving in oil phase.

IGF/DGF:

IGF/DGF units are designed as horizontal or vertical cylindrical pressure vessel.

In this equipment, the separation of the oil, water and solid phases happens by
gravity per Stokes' law. Refer to Appendix IV for the selection criteria of
IGF/DGF.

IGF/DGF use gas bubbles to remove oil droplets and suspended solids not
removed by primary water treatment.

In IGF vessel, the gas bubbles are introduced in the system by driving it into
influent stream either by impeller or by eductor. The gas bubbles capture oil
and suspended solids while rising to the surface. The oily froth is removed by
the skimmer and is recycled to oil treating units.

The separation of gas bubbles can be enhanced by subjecting the mixture to

centrifugal forces. Such centrifugal based units are of smaller foot print than the
gravity based IGFs. Such centrifugal separation based IGF units are also named
as Cyclonic or Compact flotation units (CFUs).

DGF differs from IGF by the method used to generate gas bubbles and the
resultant bubble sizes. In DGF units, the gas is dissolved in the slip stream by
applying pressure and is fed into the flotation chamber, where gas is released in
bubble form as the pressure is reduced.

Like primary water treatment technology, the efficiency of the gas flotation
process depends on: temperature. The oil-water separation efficiencies depend
upon the particle size distribution, specific gravities of oil and solids, the specific
gravity and viscosities of the produced water, the degree of emulsification of oil
and the amount of soluble organic present in the influent water.

Minimizing gas bubble size and achieving an even gas bubble distribution
enhances the removal efficiency. Gas bubble attachment to oil can be enhanced
by 1-10 ppm chemical addition. The higher salinity of water assists in smaller
bubble size generation. Median bubble size of 50-60 microns is attempted to

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achieve desired floatation. Bubble size in IGF units is seen to be

100-1000 microns and in DGF units, it 10-100 microns. Around 20-50% water
is recirculated for contacting with gas.

Micro-bubble flotation technology is an emerging technology where primary

and secondary treatment takes place inside one vessel or tank.

Chemical injection is employed to effect flocculation of oil and solids, which

readily separate in IGF/DGF/CFU. Caustic addition for pH adjustment of the
influent water is required in most of such cases. The impact of caustic addition
shall be addressed in the design.

Oil droplet size of 2-5 microns cannot undergo flotation.

Flotation works well for waters with both high and low TOC concentrations.
It is excellent for removing natural organic matter (NOM).

Despite theoretical benefits, DGF has not worked well in the oil field.

Media Filtration:

Media Filtration is used to remove suspended oil and solids that are not removed
by primary treatment processes. Refer to Appendix IV for the selection criteria
of Media Filtration.

The filters are made up with granular, multi-graded media/material (sand,

nutshell, anthracite or garnet) beds arranged in horizontal or vertical pressure
vessels. These vessels are fitted with impellers or submersible pumps to rotate
the media vigorously during the backwash cycle.

Filtration involves the processes of straining, sedimentation and adsorption for

removing the oil and solids from the influent water stream within the filter bed.

Nutshell filters are special type of media filter made from ground walnut shells
and sometimes a combination of walnut and pecan shells. The nutshells are
better than sand or anthracite for oil removal since they are preferentially water
wetted and thus readily adsorb and desorb oil. Nutshells are cleaned by
backwashing with the influent water; whereas sand filters require large amount
of clean water for backwashing.

In addition to Appendix IV, the following information shall be utilized for the
design of secondary water treatment units:
 The design of secondary treatment units shall be confirmed by CFD modeling
software.

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 When the target water quality requires oil contents below < 20 ppm,
secondary water treatment technology shall be applied in series with the
primary water treatment.
 Feed to secondary treatment technology units shall be normally 100-150 ppm
OIW but shall not exceed 200 ppm OIW. The upstream primary treatment
technology shall be designed and tuned to achieve the desired feed quality for
secondary treatment units.
 20-50% water recirculation is required for gas bubble generation.
 IGF/Media Filters/Hydrocyclone shall remove the particles above 25 microns.
 Efficient oil recovery from IGF is paramount for performance. The recovered
oil stream shall be controlled so that it does not exceed 4% of influent water.
This is for restricting water contents in the recovered oil. The water content in
the recovered oil stream shall not be above 30%.
 Selection between the Mechanical (propeller) and Hydraulic (educator) type
IGFs shall be evaluated by comparing energy consumption, treated water
quality achievable and maintenance costs. When propeller type is used,
variable motors shall be considered.
 When coagulant or flocculent chemical addition is used in the design of
secondary treatment units, the need of caustic addition for pH adjustment, its
impact of increased TSS and the cost impact of unit feasibility shall be
carefully evaluated.
 When secondary treatment technology (e.g., IGF) is placed downstream of
primary treatment technology (e.g., WOSEP/API/CPI Separator), hydraulic
study shall be performed to determine the need a pump to flow the water
through the secondary treatment unit without impacting (e.g., high level) the
primary treatment unit. When the need of such pump is established, low
shear pump shall be used to avoid the generation of smaller particles and
tighter emulsions.

7.10 The design pressure of the produced water treatment unit shall be at least 50 psig
above the operating pressure.

7.11 The fuel gas for the blanketing or floatation shall be supplied from the utility gas
pipeline.

7.12 The temperature shall be based on GOSP design package.

7.13 Space shall be provided for future modules of produced water treatment and
disposal units to meet the ultimate water cuts. Provisions shall be kept to add

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new technology components in the produced water treatment units to enhance

the operating performance or to boost the operating capacity without needing
major modification when water cut increases.

7.14 Effluent streams shall be monitored as follows:

 Produced water streams shall be metered and sampled at upstream,
intermediate stage and downstream the water treatment unit
 Sampling points shall be easily accessible
 Visual control shall be provided where necessary.
 Automatic samplers, analyzers and online monitoring should be considered
when possible.
 The sampling connections shall be provided at all critical points
(Inlet, intermediate and outlet) for all the relevant streams.
 The sample points shall be 3 or 9 ‘O’ clock position for produced water and
reject oil streams.

7.15 High efficiency mixing devices shall be used when chemical injection is applied
in the water treatment process. Emergency eye wash and showers shall be
provided close to chemical injection skids. Refer to SAES-B-069.

7.16 The state of art online oil-in-water analyzer shall be used in the inlet/outlet of
the process for trending purpose. Refer to Appendix VI.

7.17 Online or portable particle size analyzer shall be supplied as a part of produced
water treatment equipment scope.

7.18 Water compatibility studies, material selection (H2S in disposal water) and
reservoir aspects to be addressed before a decision is made to commingle
disposal water with power water.

7.19 For the corrosion protection, all the wetted surfaces of equipment and pipeline
shall be coated as per CSD advice. Refer to SAES-H-001, SAES-H-002,
SABP-A-018 and SABP-A-036.

7.20 When chemical injection facility is provided in the water treatment unit, chemical
injection automation shall be considered. Refer to SABP-A-015 and SABP-A-037.

8 Disposal Water Pumps

8.1 The treated water from the last produced water treatment unit (primary or
secondary, as the case may be) is pumped by the Disposal water pumps and
onwards to the disposal wells. The disposal pump is centrifugal type.

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Refer to SAES-G-005.

8.2 The allowable wellhead pressure at the injection or disposal well shall be
confirmed by RMD/P&FDD. In the absence of such information, the disposal
piping is designed with an MAOP of 3000 psig. The disposal Pump shut-off
pressure shall be below 3000 psig. CSD (Piping and Valves Unit) shall be
consulted if higher MAOP of disposal piping is required due to higher injection
pressure. The piping design shall conform to SAES-L-100.

8.3 Variable speed motor drivers shall be considered for the disposal pumps to
achieve energy optimization.

8.4 These are high pressure pumps required to overcome the disposal/injection well
head pressure. Therefore, a combination booster and injection pumps or multi-
stage pump shall be considered.

8.5 Since the disposal water increases over the life cycle of the GOSP, the provision
shall be kept to add the required number of pumps in staged manner instead of
designing the pumps for ultimate disposal water capacity. 100% standby pumps
shall be provided.

8.6 Separate pumps shall be provided for the produced water injection and the
power water (aquifer water) injection systems.

8.7 The design and selection of the recycle valves for the disposal pumps shall be in
accordance with SABP-J-711.

9 New Technology Applications, Testing and Deployment

9.1 Following new technologies are being developed in Saudi Aramco for the
produced water treatment. These technologies shall be evaluated before
considering for the deployment.

De-Oiling
− Absorption (organoclay)
− Walnut Shell Media Filtration
− Membrane Separation (ceramic, cross-flow, hollow fiber, vibrating)

Polishing - soluble pollutant removal

− Absorption (Activated Carbon, Organoclay)
− Solvent Extraction
− Biological treatment (membrane bio-reactor, fixed film, etc.)
− Oxidation

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− Membrane Separation (Ultrafiltration and Nano-filtration)

Polishing - salinity reduction

− Membrane Separation (RO)
− Ion Exchange
− Electrodialysis (ED)
− Evaporation (Freeze/Thaw)
− Thermal distillation

Online Oil-in-Water Analyzer

− UV Fluorescence
− UV Absorption
− Ultrasonic backscattering
− Infra Red Absorption

9.2 Field Testing of new technology shall be carried out before deploying it in
commercial scale at Saudi Aramco facilities.

9.3 When field testing of already proven and globally deployed technologies is
waived, the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM’s) performance guarantee
and physical performance verifications at similar worldwide facilities are
necessary.

10 De-bottlenecking of Existing Produced Water Treatment Units

10.1 Most of the existing GOSPs have only primary water treatment units (API/CPI
separators), but at some GOSPs, IGF and CFUs are lately installed. These are
not operational due to hydraulic limitations, low water flow rates. The capacity
of produced water treatment units shall be tested whenever:
 The crude production is stepped up
 Many new wells have been opened
 Water cut has increased sharply
 Chemical injection has increased significantly

Relevant section of SABP-A-034 shall be used to conduct the capacity test.

10.2 When debottlenecking of the existing produced water treatment is being

considered, the design guidelines provided in this standard shall be followed.

Revision Summary
24 January 2013 New Saudi Aramco Engineering Standard.

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Appendix I - Simplified Schematic of Produced Water Treatment

and Disposal Unit in a GOSP without Crude Stabilization Facility

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Appendix II - Simplified Schematic of Produced Water Treatment

and Disposal Unit in a GOSP with Crude Stabilization Facility

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Appendix III - Treated Produced Quality for Marine Disposal (As per SAES-A-103)

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Appendix IV - Typical Removal Efficiencies

for Selected Produced Water Treatment Technologies

Produced Water
Typical Oil ppm Particle Size
Treatment Technology
in Outlet water Removed
Technology Type
Primary Water API Separator/WOSEP 100-250 ppm >150 microns
Treatment
Primary Water CPI Separator 50-100 ppm >60 microns
Treatment
Advanced Primary Hydrocyclone 15-25 ppm >20 microns
Water Treatment
Secondary Water IGF 15-25 ppm >25 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water DGF 15-20 ppm >20 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water CFU 15-20 ppm >20 microns
Treatment
Secondary Water Media Filtration 10-20 ppm >5 microns
Treatment
Advanced Secondary Chemical Flocculent 5-15 ppm >3-5 microns
Water Treatment with Hydrocyclone
and CFU in series
Tertiary Water Ceramic Membrane < 1 ppm >0.01 microns
Treatment
Tertiary Water Granular Activated < 1 ppm >2 microns
Treatment Carbon
Tertiary Water Diatomaceous Earth <1 ppm >0.01 microns
Treatment

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Appendix V - Typical Decision Process for Technology Identification/Selection

Identify all the source oil treatment equipment in the

GOSP that generate produced water stream, e.g., HPPT,
LPPT, LPDT, Dehydrator, Desalter, etc.

Determine the flow rate and oil contents of

produced water stream generated by the source
equipment.

Determine what is needed in the source

equipment (HPPT, LPDT, Dehydrator,
Desalter) to reduce the oil
Is Oil in Water Yes concentration in the produced water
for any produced stream to < 1000 ppm, e.g., Change
water stream in demulsifier, install or upgrade to
normal operation efficient chemical mixer, install
> 1000 ppm? coalescing internals in production trap,
change dehydrator/desalter to duel
frequency type, etc.

No

Implement the cost effective option in

Determine the combined flow rate and oil-in-
the source equipment to ensure
water concentration for the total produced
<1000 ppm oil concentration in the
water stream.
produced water stream.

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Is the oil limit Primary and

Primary
YES NO for disposal is YES Secondary
Treatment is < 50 ppm Treatment
good enough OIW”? Required

Is the inlet oil Is the inlet oil

NO API separator
particle size > CPI separator particle size >
150 microns? Required 150 microns? Required
YES

YES NO

API separator CPI separator

Required Required

NO YES NO Hydrocyclone
DGF and Media Is the oil limit Is the oil limit and IGF is
Filtration Required < 20 ppm? < 25 ppm? required

YES

Chemical Flocculent NO
Injection + Is the oil limit
Hydrocyclone + CFU < 10 ppm?
Required

YES

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Chemical Flocculent
Injection + Hydrocyclone + YES Is the Oil NO
CFU + Diatomaecious earth Limit <1ppm?
filters OR Ceramic
Membranes Required

Notes:
1. Yes/No decisions may not be absolute. They are meant to provide rough-order of magnitude decision.
2. If technology vendor challenges the technology decision, it has to further discussed backed by the
performance verification.
3. Some removal of TSS will always happen with oil removal, but extent cannot be predicted.
4. Polymeric membranes should be avoided as they foul and plug easily in oily water service.

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Appendix VI - Industry Information for State of the Art Online Oil in Water Analyzers

Measurement Principle Operating Experience

UV Fluorescence 1. Oil Type dependency. Measures Aromatics only.
2. Needs calibration when oil is changed
3. Scaling and fouling of lenses. Regular cleaning required.
4. Gas bubbles cause high readings
5. Good for trending only
Light Scattering / (IR) Light 1. Oil Droplet size sensitivity
Attenuation 2. Can detect small changes in oil concentration
3. No field experience
4. Good for trending only
Visual Imaging 1. Gas affects the reading of oil concentration and oil droplet size
2. Fouling Sensitive. Requires frequent maintenance
Acoustic Imaging 1. Limited Field Experience
2. Can differentiate oil and solids
3. Limited effect of fouling
Laser Based 1. Not Reliable as OIW analyzer
2. If solids differ from the calibrated value, error occurs
3. Corrosion inhibitor causes high readings
4. Easy operation, low maintenance

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