The eLearning Center for B.F. Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Overview

This course covers the treatment methods required to allow reinjection of produced water into a producing formation. While the course material focuses on land-based operations, the majority of the treatment methods discussed are equally applicable to offshore production facilities. Produced water is the associated water that is produced along with oil and/or gas during normal production operations. Produced water is not a marketable product, so it must be disposed of. In many land-based production operations, the produced water is either injected into a disposal well or is reinjected into a producing well to maintain reservoir pressure and enhance oil recovery. Produced water must be treated prior to reinjection because many of the components can be harmful to the formation or the associated piping. In the case of suspended oil associated with the produced water, it can be separated and sold to generate revenue for the facility.

The course material is the technical paper "Practical Application of Produced Water Treating Technology for Land-Based Injection Operations" by Kevin A. Juniel - NATCO Group, Houston, TX. The referenced technical paper is reproduced by permission of NATCO Group.

The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of fifteen (15) questions at the end of the course to obtain PDH credits.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

  · Definition of produced water and the main components of the water stream
  · Objectives of treating produced water prior to reinjection into a producing formation
  · Methods for removal of suspended solids and suspended oil from produced water, including settling tanks, CPI's, hydrocyclones, flotation cells and filtration
  · Impact of bacteria on produced water injection and effective control methods
  · Chemical treating to control scale formation
  · Types of corrosion and corrosion control techniques

State Board Acceptance

This course can be used by professional engineers to fulfill PDH requirements mandated by state and provincial licensing boards. Decatur Professional Development is an approved provider of continuing education in all states that pre-approve course providers. In all other states that mandate continuing education for engineers, it is the individual engineer's responsibility to determine the suitability of activities for PDH credit. The state boards typically accept online* courses that cover technical, managerial** or ethical content and which are relevant to the practice of engineering. The course must have a clear purpose or objective with a content that will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee's field of practice. For questions about your mandatory PDH requirements, visit the website of your state licensing board.

*Online courses are accepted by all state licensing boards that mandate continuing education. Other than New York (which limits online courses to 18 PDH) and Iowa (which limits online courses to 6 PDH), there are no limits placed by other states on the number of hours that can be earned through online continuing education. Consult with your state licensing board if you have any questions about the acceptability of online courses.

**The New York State Board of Engineers does not accept general office management courses, but will accept project management courses that are offered by an approved provider and that are technical in nature and contribute to the engineer's professional practice.

Please Note: Continuing Education credits for this course are awarded as PDH (Professional Development Hour Credits).