Veolia Water will design, build, and operate the 45,000-bpd (barrels per day) facility under a
12-year performance agreement with Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP). Veolia Water has also agreed to provide operations and maintenance services and performance guarantees on a fixed-fee basis.
The plant, which is located at the Arroyo Grande Oilfield in San Luis Obispo County, will incorporate Veolia Water’s OPUS® II technology, which utilises Veolia Water’s CeraMem® ceramic membranes as pretreatment prior to ion exchange and reverse osmosis.
The treated water will provide 25,000 bpd for use as once through steam generation (OTSG) make-up and 20,000 bpd for surface water discharge, dewatering the Arroyo Grande reservoir. The treatment process produces treated water that meets or exceeds state and federal permit requirements, and the dewatering of the reservoir will result in a reduction of formation pressure enabling increased crude oil production at the site, the company says.
