The Next Generation In Water Filtration For The Oil And Gas Industry

By Michael Dejak, P.Eng. 

There is a need in many segments of the oil and gas production industry for an improvement in water filtration over traditional methods. This is especially true since the trend in oil and gas production is toward tighter, less permeable reservoirs and greater use of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques, many of which involve injecting water into oil reservoirs.

In order to protect the integrity of such reservoirs, the amount of solids introduced into the reservoir through water injection, even solid particles down to one micron in size, must be minimized. Conventional filtration methods generally do not meet this requirement.

An enhanced filtration technology known as Spectrum™ Plus Filtration, which incorporates the use of granular media, has been proven in various industrial applications and introduced successfully for the treatment of produced water. This technology holds the promise of meeting new requirements while being economical and robust. This White Paper reviews the needs for improved water filtration, describes the enhanced Spectrum filtration technology, and provides operational data and experience.