Decision-Making Tool for Produced Water Management

Abstract

Produced water (PW) is the most significant source of waste discharged in the production phase of oil and gas operations. The management of PW provides distinct challenges for the oil and gas industry. There are number of technologies to treat and manage the PW, but selection of the best alternative often involves competing criteria and needs sophisticated decision-making tools. This chapter introduces a decision-making tool for selecting the best PW management option by utilizing a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. The methodology introduces several important concepts, and definitions in decision analysis related to PW management. These are the trade-offs among technical feasibility, environment, cost and health and safety. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and additive value model is integrated with MCDM to enhance the decision-making process. The proposed methodology is applied to a hypothetical example, and its efficacy is demonstrated through an application dealing with the selection of PW management technology for oil and gas operations.