Abstract
In drilling and production of oil at sea, potable water is most commonly transported to oil platforms using offshore supply vessels (OSV). This transport generates a series of environmental impacts, such as the emission of greenhouse gases and risks to human health. Furthermore, transporting high volumes of water requires large vessels and consequently, very high fuel consumption. To minimise the environmental impacts, water supply options were studied. The desalination of seawater and the reusing of streams from grey water (light and dark) and black water were evaluated and compared with the characteristics of the current supply via OSV. The amount of fuel consumed was collected in the logistics department of the oil company that used the OSVs. Air emissions were quantified using the methodology that the IPCC recommended. The information on the types of sewage treatment was found in the technical manuals from the manufacturers. It was concluded that the reused water could achieve up to 70% reduction in atmospheric emissions, the use of chemicals in the water treatment plant, sludge generation and the consumption of marine diesel fuel for the transport of water. On the other hand, the same reduction can be observed both from the effluent disposal at sea and in the chlorine of the sewage treatment plant. Therefore, the source of water used and the reduction of air emissions can be maintained without impairment of the normal water use in offshore platforms in the Campos Basin. The objective of this study was to diagnose problems related to the current form of water supply, to quantify them and to propose measures for increasing environmental efficiency.
Highlights
Every day, offshore oil platforms use large amounts of water in their activities related to oil exploration and production in the sea
Due to water scarcity in some regions and its high cost to transport to certain locations, such as on offshore platforms, water reusing a viable alternative solution
This study demonstrated that there was a big difference between using offshore supply vessels (OSV) to transport water to offshore platforms in Campos Basin and the effluent recycling from wastewater
Summary
Offshore oil platforms use large amounts of water in their activities related to oil exploration and production in the sea. The drinking water used comes from a drinking water treatment station on land and is transported by 23 offshore supply vessels (OSV) from the collected point to the 60 offshore platforms in the Campos Basin [1]. These platforms are about 112 miles from shore. Sometimes a reduced water supply due to shipping difficulties can result in the stoppage of drilling activities for days, representing a significant loss due to the high costs of a platform
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