Aug 2026· SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition· 0 citations· 8 references
Abstract
Produced water management remains one of the most persistent cost and ESG challenges in Nigeria's upstream oil and gas operations. Across land and swamp assets, operators manage over 170,000 barrels of produced water daily, predominantly through disposal-focused strategies that drive high operating costs, carbon intensity, and growing regulatory pressure. While Produced Water Treatment and Reuse (PWTR) plants are increasingly deployed, most operate as static systems—lacking real-time intelligence to optimise cost, reuse potential, and compliance performance.
In response to this, Aqua Intel™, a novel digital optimisation layer, is designed to sit on top of conventional and modular PWTR infrastructure. Rather than replacing existing hardware or OEM systems, Aqua Intel functions as an intelligent "decision brain" that dynamically allocates produced water volumes across treatment, reuse, and disposal pathways based on real-time operational data, cost functions, ESG targets, and regulatory constraints.
Using linear programming and rules-based optimisation, Aqua Intel continuously evaluates flow rates, water quality, treatment capacity, energy consumption, and regulatory limits to determine the most value-accretive allocation strategy—evolving traditional fixed approaches (such as static 40/60 splits) into adaptive, cost-minimising, ESG-aligned operations. Integrated at key nodes including separators, LACT units, and PWTR control systems, the platform enables auditable traceability, automated compliance reporting, and measurable emissions reduction.
A simulation-based pilot study applied to a representative 25,000 bwpd modular PWTR unit demonstrates the potential to reduce produced water handling OPEX by up to 53% at pilot scale, projecting 60–70% reduction at full-field scale, unlock more than $20 million per year in net economic value, and materially improve water reuse outcomes without introducing subsurface risk or major additional capital exposure. This solution represents a shift from "treat-and-dispose" thinking to intelligent water value management, positioning produced water as a controllable asset rather than an unavoidable liability. Aqua Intel offers a scalable, regulator-aligned pathway for Nigeria's upstream sector to meet tightening ESG expectations while improving asset economics in mature and water-drive reservoirs.
Produced water (PW) is the single largest waste stream generated across oil and gas operations in local and global regions, yet it represents far more than a disposal problem. Effective PW management has transformed from a compliance need into a facilitator of responsible energy growth as regulatory scrutiny increases, there is increased water scarcity, and expectations of investors around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rise.
This paper uses the Niger Delta as a case study to investigate the management of produced water from an integrated sustainability and ESG perspective. In order to demonstrate why traditional, compliance-minimum approaches are inadequate in the face of mounting environmental, social, and governance pressures, it starts by examining the current state of PW management practices, including primary management strategies and the full range of treatment technologies in use in Nigeria and globally.
In light of this, the study evaluates both the well-established and cutting-edge treatment methods, including hydrocyclones, induced gas floatation, reinjection, membrane filtration, and locally sourced bio-adsorbents. It further compares these methods to important ESG performance metrics that include water stewardship, community impact, regulatory compliance, greenhouse gas emissions, and reporting transparency.
Field data representing Niger Delta assets, Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of carbon and energy intensity across treatment routes, regulatory benchmarking against NUPRC and NESREA standards, and cost-benefit modeling of economic versus ESG outcomes were all integrated into a mixed-method analytical framework.
The findings show that regulated produced water management can improve ESG ratings significantly and lessen freshwater withdrawals, ease ecological and community constraints, and minimize treatment-related emissions. The study comes to the conclusion that moving from passive PW disposal to active resource management through reuse, bio-adsorption, reinjection, and transparent reporting creates long-term operational value and establishes oil and gas companies as reliable players in Nigeria's larger energy transition.
P. Oluwatayo· SPE Nigeria Annual Internati...· 0 citations
This study explored whether it's possible to recover valuable resources from five operational Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to help build a stronger urban sanitation economy. We gathered data on biogas, biosolids, treated effluent, and household tariff revenues through laboratory analyses and interviews between December 2025 and April 2026, then ran a 20-year cost-benefit analysis using three discount rates. Two sites, Kigamboni-Tungi (131% OPEX cost coverage) and Tuangoma (115%), are already paying for themselves through resource recovery. However, across all sites, there’s still a combined annual revenue gap of 5,025 USD. Our findings show that better management, rather than new technology, is the key to success: benefit-cost ratios improved by 44–109% under more optimistic scenarios. The biggest challenges were institutional, not technical. For example, formalizing biosolid sales, adding disinfection to the effluent at three sites, and starting household tariffs at Mlalakuwa could help each site cover its costs with minimal additional investment. We encourage the Ministry of Water and Sanitation to recognize DEWATS as productive infrastructure in national water sector funding. Our study offers the first verified, multi-site financial dataset linking effluent quality, resource-recovery revenues, and lifecycle cost-benefit analysis for DEWATS in sub-Saharan Africa, providing practical evidence to inform sanitation-economy policy in low-income urban areas. To improve DEWATS sustainability, we recommend formalizing biosolid and effluent sales and investing in low-cost disinfection upgrades to unlock higher-value resource recovery. Strengthening CBWSO management capacity and incentives will further support long-term financial viability and effective operation.
W. N. Mmuya, D. Mmasi, A. Mremi· Journal of Applied Sciences...· 0 citations
Produced water refers to water being brought to the surface during production from subsurface reservoirs. It is typically the largest-volume by-product or waste stream associated with oil and gas exploration and production. Produced water has a complex composition of total dissolved salts, dissolved hydrocarbons, suspended solids, and both soluble and insoluble organic compounds, which can pose significant risks to the marine environment if discharged without adequate treatment. Produced water management constitutes a major challenge for indigenous producing companies, primarily due to limited capital expenditure and restricted access to advanced technologies, which significantly influence the selection and performance of management strategies.
Currently, the most widely adopted method for disposal among producing companies is deep well injection, which is reliable for disposing large volumes of water with minimal environmental impact. However, the cost to drill and complete a dedicated deep injection well typically ranges from about USD 1–10 million onshore (and significantly higher offshore), depending on various factors, representing a substantial financial burden for indigenous companies, particularly those at early stages of production.
This paper reviews produced water treatment, reuse, and disposal technologies adopted by indigenous oil companies and presents sustainable alternative practices considering national regulatory requirements, economic constraints, and recent technological advances. The study is based on a review of published literature, industry reports, regulatory guidelines, and field practice documentation related to produced water management in oil fields. Treatment methods were classified into physical, chemical, biological, and advanced technologies and evaluated based on treatment efficiency, operating cost, footprint, and ease of maintenance. Disposal and reuse options, including reinjection, overboard discharge, irrigation, and limited industrial reuse, were also reviewed.
This paper offers practical guidance for production engineers, facilities engineers, and environmental managers by highlighting fit-for-purpose produced water management strategies that balance performance, cost, and regulatory compliance, thereby supporting practical, scalable, and locally adaptable solutions for indigenous oil and gas operations.
A. G. Adebusuyi, L. C. Okonkwo, S. Dauda· SPE Nigeria Annual Internati...· 0 citations
Effective oil reservoir management aims to maximize profit by navigating operational, technological, economic, and regulatory constraints. This management is inherently linked with production infrastructure and spans the entire reservoir life cycle — from exploration and production to revitalization. To streamline reservoir studies, the infrastructure is mapped into project variables (PV), control variables (CV), and revitalization variables (RV). Currently, short-term decisions in the management of oil and gas capture valves, or fluid injection, are often made without a formal procedure, which can lead to suboptimal production. Leveraging historical production data for future decision-making can support more effective management. This study introduces a data mining-based methodology to derive control rules for managing CV. Data simulated from a reservoir model, representing actual reservoir conditions, was utilized for development. Experiments were conducted both to validate the control rules obtained by the proposed methodology, using a numerical simulator, and to evaluate the performance of the rules when applied to the management of control variables. The simulation results indicated that the control rules derived from the proposed methodology enhanced the economic production indicator for one-third of the evaluated wells. It is noteworthy that the initial set of rules, generated by the simulator, was already the result of a search and optimization process. Furthermore, the application of these rules to well control management proved effective across all tested wells. Comparisons with classical optimization methods further indicate that the proposed approach delivers the most consistent performance across wells. The results reported in this work provide evidence in favor of the proposed methodology and can be considered an initial step towards generating computationally efficient and interpretable control rules applicable in practice for short-term decision-making.
Sérgio F. A. Batista, A. Santos, João Roberto Bertini· Computational Geosciences· 0 citations
The article addresses the problem of water-cut management in the producing well stock of the Astrakhan gas condensate field (AGCF) under conditions of increasing water and gas factor (WGF), limited capacity for handling produced water, and the need to maintain commercial production of gas and condensate from complicated reservoir zones. Based on the analysis of actual field data, it is shown that the average annual WGF across the field in 2025 amounted to 15.41 cm³/m³, which is 10.8% lower than the 2024 level of 17.28 cm³/m³. However, the decrease in the overall indicator is mainly due to technological limitations on the intake of water by the Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant, a 39.9% reduction in associated water production, a 32% reduction in gas separation production, technical diagnostics, industrial safety assessments, repairs to wellhead heaters, replacement and repair of fountain fittings, major repairs to individual wells, as well as changes in operating modes and the transfer of some water-rich wells to the inactive fund. An approach is proposed for developing an integrated water-cut management system, including WGF monitoring, classification of the well stock by degree of water production, diagnosis of water inflow causes, forecasting of water inflow dynamics, selection of the optimal operating mode, and the use of underground storage caverns as a technological element for operating wells with a high water-gas ratio. It is proved that the introduction of an operation scheme through special technological wells (hereinafter referred to as underground tanks) can ensure the maintenance of problematic wells, involve additional gas and condensate reserves in the development, reduce the load on ground-based water preparation and utilization systems, and increase the sustainability of AGCF development.
Sergey Mikhailovich Kalyagin, Andrey Aleksandrovich Shevyakhov, Artur Igorevich Mirzoyan· Oil and gas technologies and...· 0 citations
Service reservoirs (SRs) are critical assets within drinking water distribution systems, yet water service providers (WSPs) lack methods for in-service performance assessment. Using data from 17 SRs and 2 WSP, a novel framework assessing SR integrity and mixing characteristics is developed and validated. While single-parameter analysis yields limited insights, combining level and flow data enabled mass balance calculations to detect integrity issues such as leaks and ingress up to 3 months before the scheduled inspections. Hydraulic residence time calculations, based on flow and level data, identified SRs operating beyond their recommended range with water age, sedimentation, and disinfectant residual consequences. By comparing hydraulic to cross-correlation residence times, calculated using inlet and outlet conductivity data, SRs exhibiting short-circuiting were identified. These were linked to poor mixing behaviour, creating zones of reduced disinfectant residual and higher bacteriological risk. An operational trial was subsequently conducted that demonstrated that by enhancing the SR level cycling, an approach highlighted by self-organising map analysis of data from 329 SRs, a 33% improvement in mixing was obtained. This new framework, using standard network data, facilitates WSPs to transition from reactive and periodic assessment of SRs to proactive and effective real-time smart water infrastructure management.
Killian Gleeson, Clervie Genevois, Grigorios Kyritsakas et al.· AQUA — Water Infrastructure,...· 0 citations
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