Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic RESEARCH ARTICLE

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Vol. 4, No. 2, 2020, Printed in the Indonesia

The Application of Well Injection Technology in the Produced

Water Management Oil and Gas Industry
Sillak Hasiany1,*
1
Department of Infrastructure and Territorial Technology, Sumatera Institute of Technology

Produced water is the largest liquid waste generated from the production of oil and gas. The direct discharge of produced
water into the environment can be harmful to human’s life and environmental. Thus, it needs to be managed, one of which is
through the technology of well injection. Well injection technology is a technology where the produced water generated in
the process of production of oil and gas will be returned to the earth by means of injecting it to injection wells. The purpose
in this study was to identify the amount of produced water injected back into the injection wells and identify the constraints
of the application of well injection technology in the company. The primary and secondary data were collected through field
observations, laboratory analysis, and interviews. Descriptive analysis was conducted to know the constraints and benefits of
applying this technology. The results showed that the re-injection technology was able to inject produced water of 37158
barrels per day. However, this technology led the wells to be increasingly saturated and leakage to produced water reinjection
pipes.

Keywords: Produced Water, Re-injection Technology, Oil and Gas industry

1. INTRODUCTION beneficial use suitable for produced water for

In the modern world the position of petroleum as a industry. One of various types of technology that can
primary energy source cannot be replaced. Petroleum be used to manage produced water is the re-injection
is the main source in the manufacture fabrication not technology. It is a technology where the produced
only polymers or plastics but also a variety of water generated in the process of oil production will
chemicals used every day. Produced water is the be returned to the oil wells. This study provides an
water that comes out along with gas and oil during overview of the application of technology of well
the extraction process; therefore, the produced water injection in the management of produced water
contains chemical compounds similar to generated by oil and gas companies.
hydrocarbons (crude oil) as well as all chemicals
used during the process of production and 2. METHODOLOGY
management of crude oil [1]. Produced water is the A. Data
largest liquid waste generated by the exploration and The research was conducted for six months from January
to June 2013 in the oil and gas company in Muara Badak,
production of oil and gas with a composition of 80%
East Kalimantan. The primary data was collected from the
of a liquid waste, and on an aging oil field, it reaches unit process operations in the company including the raw
95% [2, 3]; as a result, this needs to be managed by materials, and environmental management that has been
selecting the appropriate disposal or by searching for done, while the secondary data consists of a review of
*
Email Address: hasiany.siregar@tl.itera.ac.id

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literature, information from internet, and other related B. Pretreatment for Produced Water
data available in the company. In this company, pre-treatment process that is performed
on Produced Water Pollution Control (PWPC) unit before
B. SWOT Analysis it is injected into the injection wells is intended to
SWOT refers to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and separate the oil from the water to reduce the oil content in
threats. Here, a SWOT analysis internal and external the water (see Figure. 1). Facilities PWPC in this
factors was used to identify factors that affect company consists of:
performance, the constraints and benefits of applying the a) Break Drum V-6500
technology of well injection (see Table I). Break Drum Unit serves to separate or discharge gas
carried in the water. This unit has a capacity of 25,000
Table I. SWOT Analysis over Re-Injection Technology bpd
SWOT b) Corrugated Plate Interceptor (CPI)
Strength 1. Cost effective CPI has a capacity of 25,000 bpd with outlet oil
2. Easily maintained content design of 300 ppm. The results of the
3. Easily Applied processing of the CPI are water and oil. The water will
Weakness 1. Saturated well for injection be treated again in GFU and the oil will go into the
2. Leakage in produced water pipes API Separator.
Opportunity 1. Used on EOR (Enhanced Oil c) Gas Floatation Unit (GFU)
Recovery) Having the capacity of 25,000 bpd, GFU is a tool that
2. Used for CBM (Coal Bed Methane)
serves to separate the water derived from CPI which
Threats 1. Saturated well for injection
has oil content less than 300 ppm to become less than
2. The reservoir formations can be
severely damaged during the 25 ppm. From GFU, the water is flown into the API
reinjection process Separator.
3. Natural disasters d) API Separator
API separator is an oil collecting and separating
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION pond/storage discharged from CPI and GFU. The
A. The composition of produced water water still containing oil will be pumped to Gun
Produced water has a complex composition which can be Barrel.
divided into two main categories: organic and inorganic e) Gun Barrel
compounds. In general, produced water has a composition Gun Barrel receives water from oil a plant and from an
consisting of components of dissolved and dispersed oil, API pond/storage. At this pool there is a separation
minerals and addictive chemical compounds during the process based on density of oil and water. The oil
production process, gas, solid and liquid compounds, collected at the top of the tank will go out into the
microorganisms and oxygen. Table 2 indicates that the recovery tank before going to the oil heater treater.
composition produced water which consists of a Meanwhile, the water coming out of the bottom of the
compounds wide variety, each of which has chemical tank goes to the CPI and GFU before finally
properties and different quality standards. The compounds accommodated to the Tank one (T1) or Tank two (T2)
contained in the produced water are generally compound using a pump 4385 A / B which will then be pumped
contaminants to the environment so that if the value into the injection wells.
exceeds the quality standards that have been set, the f) T1 and T2, which are the last two storage tanks of
potential for environmental pollution increases. Produced produced water. There occurs settling process where
water is waste containing hydrocarbons and BTX [4]. oil will be on the top layer and water will be at the
BTX compounds particularly Benzene and Toluene bottom in the bypass from T1 to T2. Oil will undergo
compounds have been known as carcinogenic compounds overflow if it reaches a certain height and will be fed
[5]. The main effect which may arise from inhaling back to the API separator through a pipe 6 "and 8".
xylene vapor is depression in the central nervous system PWPC serves to reduce the oil content contained in the
which leads to symptoms such as headache, dizziness, produced water, thus, the oil can be produced again and
nausea and vomiting [6]. Phenol is an organic compound produced water injection process does not experience
which is toxic and is persistent pollutant in the water. At a
plugging. Figure 2 shows the oil content before and after
concentration of 5-25 mg / L, phenol can be carcinogenic
treatment on PWPC
to humans [7]. Table II shows data of produced water
composition for the year 2012 measured based on eight
parameters [8].

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Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic RESEARCH ARTICLE

Table II. The Chemical Composition of Produced Water In The Oil And Gas Industry Wastewater
Concentration
Salinity COD Phenol Ammonia Sulfide TDS
Month Oil pH
(ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (ppm)
(ppm)
January 330,40 1945,20 1032,50 13,620 7,98 10,618 0,1260 -
February 224,75 3187,25 1157,50 12,730 8,10 13,233 1,4050 -
March 171,25 1651,00 781,13 17,023 7,61 10,260 0,0475 -
April 130,80 1598,40 830,60 16,050 7,98 7,796 0,0000 -
May 266,00 1317,25 1230,00 27,303 7,45 8,805 1,0550 -
June 309,25 1934,50 660,50 10,007 8,05 7,720 1,8755 -
July 524,20 1847,40 692,20 17,070 8,08 8,060 0,1320 -
August 759,75 2103,75 1376,88 7,745 8,11 7,663 0,1525 -
September 689,60 1558,00 1251,20 14,626 8,11 10,342 0,5400 -
October 945,75 1772,50 513,25 11,703 7,64 9,955 0,2700 3571,25
November 1024,20 1162,50 1120,25 11,310 7,67 10,710 0,3600 3675,00
December 1215,40 2186,25 1887,40 8,790 7,84 10,690 1,1900 3823,00
Average 549,28 1855,33 1044,45 13,998 7,89 9,654 0,5961 3689,75
Quality
* 25 * 300 2 6-9 * 10 *1
Standard
*Reference for Quality Standard: KEP. 42/MENLH/10/96/TERBIT

Figure 1. Produced water pollution control (PWPC) Management

(Source: Internal Oil and Gas Company)

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centralized in one oil field which is the biggest this is

because the injection wells are located in there, hence, the
produced water generated in the others oil field will be
streamed to there, then collected for pre-treatment process
prior to injection (PWPC). The average monthly volume
of produced water which will be injected is 37158 barrels
every day. Due to the large amount of injected produced
water, the presence of the injection system is very
important. The high volume of produced water is
influenced by many factors, including the production age
of the wells, the type of oil and gas produced the location
of wells or oil field, and the geological structure [13].
Figure 2. Pareto chart of Oil Content in Produced Water
The pumps used for the injection process are four pumps
(Source: Company Laboratory)
arranged in series and one separate pump (Figure 4), A
C. Re-Injection Technology
pump is a motor driven in which the speed can be set
variously, it also has a mechanical pump silt which serves
Due to the large amount of injected produced water,
to prevent the escape of water from the pump. The total
the presence of the injection system is very important. produced water debit injected in Field is an average of
The high volume of produced water is influenced by 38,500 barrels / day with an average injection pressure of
many factors, including the production age of the 678-1052 psi.
wells, the type of oil and gas produced the location
of wells or oil field, and the geological structure [7].
Figure 3 shows the volume indicator of produced
water In Injection System of 2012.

Figure 4. Flow of Re-Injection of Produced Water

(Source: Internal Oil and Gas Company)
Figure 3. Volume of produced water In Injection System
(Source: Internal Company) D. Injection wells monitoring and construction
In this oil and gas company, to operate the injection system,
Injection system is the most appropriate disposal method it must carry out monitoring actions to maintain the stability
of produced water according to the company due to the of the injection system. This aims to know injection
economic costs such as inexpensive, easily maintained, as condition of produced water into injection wells. The
well as easily applied technology. Disposal of produced following are monitoring conducted by the Company:
water into the unused wells in oil and gas fields on land a) Monitoring the injection pressure of the well once a
does not require complex treatment process, it can be day.
directly injected into the well [8, 9]. Management cost of b) Testing the casing pressure of all wells twice a year.
produced water will increase along with the increasing c) Monitoring cumulative volume and injection debit
number of treatment processes of the company [10]. This once a day.
is supported by the facts that there is a lot of available oil d) Checking the Caliper once a year.
wells that are no longer in production and this condition is e) Monitoring of chemical-physical characteristics of the
technically suitable to be used as injection wells. Injection waste regularly, every three months.
of produced water into the wells has an advantage to
A properly functioning well must have a standard
environmental. In addition, it is more efficient for the
construction (see Figure 5). Company’s injection wells
company than other technologies of produced water
have the following construction:
disposal and economically the most inexpensive
a) The casing pipe: A steel pipe mounted on the wall of
technology [11]. Produced water injection requires a
the well and then fortified with cement.
system that starts from the pre-treatment process to the
b) Tubing pipe: A pipe protecting the production
injection of produced water into injection wells using
pipelines which can also serve as a production
pumps [12]. In this company, Produced water injection is
pipelines.
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 Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic RESEARCH ARTICLE

c) Insulation (packer): Serving as a boundary between incidents of leakage and 7 times of spill incidents.
zones as well as the stopper. Incident of leakage is a serious problem due to the large
d) The annulus: The space between the casing and impact on the environment. However for the constraints
tubing. of increasingly saturated wells, the company had an
e) Well head: Equipment for controlling wells. alternative solution which is to replace with another well
and use it alternately until the pressure at the initial well
drops.

E. The latest developments Re-Injection Technology on

produced water management
Injection system is the most appropriate disposal method
of produced water from the perspective of cost
effectiveness. Figure 4 shows In the United States,
produced water management is generally categorized into
disposal and injection operations. Most of the onshore hat
produced water is injected while most of the offshore
produced water is discharged, regulated by different
federal and state laws.

Figure 5. Example of Sectional Injection wells on

construction Oil and Gas Company
(Source: Internal Oil and Gas Company) Figure 4. US produced water volume by management
practice [14]
Constraints in the management of produced water by the
company’s injection system are: In Indonesia, PERTAMINA branch EP Asset 4 Field
a) Increasingly saturated wells. Sukowati on 2019 was start to Spud in, the goal is to get
The more the produced water injected into the one injection drilling well to treat the produced water
injection well, the more saturated the well will be. from the oil mixture in oil field so that it can increase the
The pressure that comes from the bottom of the well amount of production or EOR [15]. Shallow reinjection
will be even greater, making it increasingly difficult provides good pressure support, and allows a higher rate
to inject produced water. of steam production than the deep reinjection case. For
b) Leakage in produced water pipes. the high reinjection rate case, although injecting into the
A produced water pipe is one of the important deeper level gives a significantly smaller steam
components in the injection system. The water pipe is production rate than shallow reinjection initially, after 25
a means of transportation of produced water from one years of production, the deep reinjection starts to show
location to another and from the oil field to the better support of steam production than the shallow
injection wells. reinjection [16]. Re-injection Technology is an important
method for handling and utilizing produced water, but the
There is a 2 (two) types of leakage incident: leakage and reservoir formations can be severely damaged during the
spill. This distinction of the two is based on total volume reinjection process if the process is not fully understood
of produced water that comes out of the water pipe. An and adequately managed [14].
incident is said to leak if the volume of produced water
that comes out of the pipes is less than 1 barrel, while an 4. CONCLUSION
incident is called spill if the produced water coming out Technology of well injection is the most appropriate
of the pipes is over 1 barrel. The most common leakage disposal method of produced water for the company
because it is more environmentally friendly, efficient and
incident happened in 2012. There were 11 incidents: 4

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