Lithium extraction from associated waters on the example of Orenburg OGCF

Abstract

The state of the mineral resource base of hydrocarbons in recent years has been characterized by a decrease in proven reserves and extremely low rates of their reproduction. In Western Siberia, as in other oil-bearing provinces of Russia, economically profitable oil reserves are decreasing. It is obvious that the development of the fuel and energy complex is becoming more focused on the development of hard-to-recover reserves, which account for almost 2/3 of the proven oil reserves. Technologies for the extraction of such raw materials are characterized by higher capital costs, which requires the search for new ways to increase the profitability of projects. One of these areas is the extraction of metals from the associated water of oil and gas fields. In this paper, the possibility of using the technology for extracting lithium from the associated waters of the Orenburg oil and gas condensate field is evaluated, and the boundary conditions for the implementation of this technology are determined.