Leading environmental management programs require new and innovative approaches. In 2001, Saudi Aramco established its environmental control and remediation technology focus team (EC&RT) to pursue its goal of becoming a regional leader in the application of environmental advances for the oil and gas industry.

The team included environmental and operations professionals dedicated to proactively facilitate environmental technology developments within the company. Other members included environmental specialists from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and specialists from several both the downstream and upstream sectors.

Technology development provides many benefits to operators as well as to the region. In the case of Saudi Aramco, advanced environmental technologies are reducing the impact of company operations on the Saudi Arabia’s environment while assuring compliance with increasingly stringent government standards. Research and development activities have also provided jobs and career development opportunities for young engineers and scientists in the region. Additionally, successfully commercialized technologies can produce an additional source of revenue through licensing and royalties. But perhaps the most important direct benefit is that superior technology can help promote the use of oil as the preferred environmentally friendly energy source.

Saudi Aramco’s EC&RT Focus Team has identified six key environmental areas that are critical to its long-term future. Potential technology gains exist in several areas including air quality, industrial wastewater, marine environment, solid and hazardous waste management, radiation protection and site remediation.

Within these broad target areas, Saudi Aramco’s EC&RT team developed a list of more specific technology development priorities, which it intends to focus upon in the near term. These priorities include:

  • Reduction of SO2 and NOX emissions;
  • Cost-effective treatment and disposal of oily wastes;
  • Reduction in the cost of compliance with wastewater discharge regulations;
  • Protection and remediation of groundwater resources;
  • Long-term solutions for handling and disposal of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM);
  • Oil spill detection;
  • Real-time monitoring of the marine environment;
  • Treatment and disposal of offshore drilling wastes and produced water; and
  • Abandonment of offshore structures and pipelines.

Technology initiatives have begun in each of these identified target areas and others are currently being evaluated. Some of these initiatives are being performed solely with Saudi Aramco resources while others are either in partnership with other in-Kingdom research institutions or outside consultants and international partners.

An example of a recently completed environmental technology initiative is the laser-based oil-fingerprinting initiative. The initiative team developed techniques using laser-induced fluorescence to identify the source of unknown oil spills. In collaboration with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, a rapid, cost-effective method was developed to identify unknown oil samples. Saudi Aramco received the National Oil Companies’ (NOC) Environmental Stewardship award during the 4th NOC Forum for this project.

In the air pollution control area, the company is developing techniques in partnership with commercial technology suppliers to monitor and control stack gas emissions. A recently-completed initiative evaluated a software-based Predictive Emissions Monitoring (PEM) system to monitor and control NOX and SO2 emission levels as a substitute for the traditional, but more costly hardware-based Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEM) system.

A PEM system was installed and certified at the Ras Tanura Refinery (RTR). Testing has showed that the performance of the PEM system is comparable to CEM with lower overall costs. Evaluation of this system at RTR for more than one year demonstrated the viability and reliability of this technology for other Saudi Aramco facilities.

In the area of site assessment and investigation, Passive Soil Gas Surveys were evaluated as a more cost-effective and much quicker alternative to drilling groundwater monitoring wells. This initiative collected soil gas samples in a grid pattern at three oil storage facilities. When the results are plotted on a site map, potential sources of leakage from tanks and underground piping can be readily located.

In addition to the completed initiatives discussed above, active initiatives include: Development of an Operational Marine Modeling System, Oily Wastewater Reuse-MBR and RO Treatment, Fugitive Emission Detection and Quantification using Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy, and Evaluation of Drilling Fluids and Commercial Polymers for Dust and Sand Control.

Through these and other innovative environmental technology development approaches, Saudi Aramco is striving to develop its work force, improve the Kingdom’s economy, promote the use of oil, and improve the quality of the Kingdom’s environment.

SIDE BAR:

The EC&RT team focuses on environmental management projects for both the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry. It has completed 17 environmental technology initiatives since it was created in 2001. Among these are the developments of a database for marine biological and oceanographic environments, a risk-based approach for remediation of contaminated sites and enhanced oil wastewater treatment systems.

It is currently monitoring nine ongoing initiatives including the flare emissions research as part of the International Flare Consortium, the development of an operational marine modeling system, oily wastewater reuse and treatment, evaluation of drilling fluids and commercial polymers for dust and sand control and searching for alternatives to recover oil from waste oily sludge. Additionally, the team meets monthly to evaluate new proposals.