Water conservation at ExxonMobil facilities

Abstract

As a result of Australia’s long-running drought there has been renewed community focus on water as a vital resource. In response to this and as part of ExxonMobil’s environmental performance improvement program, local water conservation teams have been established at multiple ExxonMobil Australia sites in Victoria. This has stimulated an increased focus on water as a precious resource across the entire workforce resulting in additional emphasis on pro-active planning for water conservation. In one initiative, freshwater use at Altona Refinery was reduced by one megalitre per day. This was achieved through multiple initiatives such as optimising use of standby equipment and the frequency of flushing operations. At Long Island Point, an engineering study supported by the water conservation team identified a cost effective means of ensuring that water used in the flare-stacks is synchronised with the volume of gas being processed at the flare-tip. This initiative is on track to reduce site fresh water consumption since late February 2007 by up to 55 megalitres of potable water a year. Since 2001 Longford has successfully reduced water use by 40% from 5 ML a day in 2001 to 3 ML a day in 2006. Similarly, 2006 water usage for Long Island Point was the lowest on record. Now, with water conservation teams firmly established on these and other sites and further projects yet to be implemented, water consumption is set to decline even further. Overall water saving initiatives have been aligned with increased regulatory and community expectations to reduce water usage, driven by the drought conditions.