The Middle East holds a large proportion of the world’s crude oil reserves, and at Corrotherm we are following with interest the progress of a new seawater supply project in the region, which will enable the extraction and export of a steady supply of crude oil for the world’s oil consumers.
The focus of the project is Iraq, the second largest oil producer of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) nations. There is currently a demand for around 815,000 barrels of the country’s oil per day, a drop in the metaphoric ocean of its reserves, estimated to be in excess of 143 billion barrels.
In order to continue extracting oil in the Al-Basrah region, the Southern Oil Company (SOC) was tasked by the Iraqi government to employ secondary oil recovery methods. The purpose of this was to bolster the pressures within the wells to keep them operating at peak efficiency, and the easiest way to introduce this pressure is by injecting water directly into the wells.
The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) was given life by the SOC to identify how the water could be sourced and directed to the wells, which need a staggering 12.5 million barrels of water per day. Unfortunately the local rivers simply cannot supply the required the level of water, so it must be sourced from further afield, which led the project teams to the Gulf.
Sayeed Junied, regional sales manager for Corrotherm International Middle East, said: “There are a lot of eyes on the CSSP throughout the world as a project on this scale has never been attempted before. The recent project updates have confirmed that the route of the pipeline is nearing completion and the plans for running the seawater from the treatment facility to the various delivery platforms in the oil fields are being finalised at the moment."
This solution will by no means be an easy task, as the water will need to be pumped over distances of up to 270 kilometres through 56” steel pipelines. Upon completion, the Iraqi CSSP will be the biggest plant of its kind in the world, pumping 12.5 million barrels of water per day for use in the oil wells.
Sayeed continues: “This project is of particular interest to Corrotherm as high-nickel alloys, such as INCONEL®, INCOLOY® and MONEL® that we supply to the industry would be used in this situation to channel the pumped water from the delivery platforms into the oil reservoirs.
“The secondary oil recovery method has been deployed in other applications throughout the world, but usually the sources of water are closer to the oil wells and do not require such a lengthy journey from source. This project means that land locked countries will be able to take full advantage of this oil recovery method in the future, thus providing greater efficiencies within the global industry.”
If you would like further information about how Corrotherm International can provide solutions to the oil and gas extraction industries please contact a member of our team. For all Middle East enquiries, please telephone +971 2 815 2811, or contact our main UK office.
