The treatment of produced water can be a major component of the cost of producing oil and gas. Wells may start out producing little water but sooner or later all oil wells produce a much larger volume of water than oil. The ability to efficiently and economically dispose of this water is critical to the success in the oil production business.

This produced water is usually high in total dissolved solids (TDS) often containing salt, oil and grease, various natural inorganic and organic compounds or chemical additives used in drilling and operating the well, and may also contain some naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). The physical and chemical properties of produced water vary considerably depending on the geographic location of the field, the geological host formation, and the type of hydrocarbon product being produced. Produced water properties and volume can even vary throughout the lifetime of a reservoir.

The process of removing produced water is often difficult and expensive. For example, the traditional method of using injection wells usually requires the pumping and hauling of wastewater to a location for storage and handling, making it both labor intensive and an expensive use of real estate that otherwise could be allocated for more production or reclaimed and put to other uses.

Use of SMI evaporation systems in the oil and gas industry has grown very rapidly in recent years. SMI’s mechanical Evaporation Equipment offers our customers a better alternative because it is a cost effective produced water removal system that meets many government regulations. There are many benefits to using Mechanical Evaporation. Our Evaporation Machines can rapidly increase the evaporation process, with up to 14 times more efficiency than space taken by the same area of pond. SMI Evaporation Machines are relatively compact, reliable and efficient and can be transported to different sites as necessary. They can be a low cost addition to enhance evaporation on existing containment ponds or to minimize new pond surface area.

We offer complete process water solutions, from initial site analysis to remote centralized computer control systems. Learn more about SMI’s processed water evaporation technologies.