OPUS EXPERTISE OFFERS EASTERN PROMISE
News Release
Opus
Issued- Friday, 9 November, 2012
For use- immediate
• British firm wins major Middle East contract
• Study to benefit Qatar oil production
• Work will help meet environment regulations
A British firm’s industry-leading expertise has enabled it to secure a major contract to help an oil company meet stringent environmental targets in the Middle East.
Opus, with headquarters in Guildford in Surrey and test/development facilities in Flotta in Orkney, has been awarded the contract with Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ).
Maersk Oil is operator of the Al Shaheen offshore oil and gas field, 110 miles north east of Qatar’s capital Doha.
Opus, which is one of the exhibitors at ADIPEC, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, which runs from 11-14 November, is internationally renowned for its Best Available Techniques (BAT) and Best Environmental Practice (BEP) study methodology which is proven and accepted by both oil companies and regulators.
Applying the BAT/BEP principles allows oil and gas operators to maximise production while minimising harmful discharges to the marine environment.
Glen McLellan, Opus’ Director of Strategic Operations, said: “We are delighted to get this contract which allows us to get a foothold in this area and spread the word of what we can do.
“OSPAR regulations dictate that all assets need to be operating to BAT and BEP principles and we are pretty much the first ones to offer a robust and practical methodology to do that.
“A large proportion of the world generally follows the OSPAR region guidelines, so it is important to be at the front of the pack on this.”
Opus, whose motto is ‘results delivered’, specialises in treatments for oil separation and produced water which is a by-product of petroleum production.
Large quantities of water are produced along with hydrocarbons in oil and gas fields during extraction and water production quantities rise as the oil and gas fields reach maturity. Produced water needs to be managed efficiently to reduce any harm to the surrounding environment.
The objective of the new study is to identify, rank and recommend options for optimisation of the existing produced water treatment facilities and, where appropriate, technology options for improvements to meet future produced water quality targets.
Opus has devised a ground-breaking and comprehensive three-stage process to ensure companies gain the full benefit of BAT and BEP principles in produced water management.
It allows operators to improve production, achieve optimum environmental performance, reduce downtime and cut operational and capital expenditure.
The process involves a detailed review of assets and generation of a list of options for action. These options are then ranked against a range of BAT and BEP criteria, including, for example, health and safety, technical risk and cost factors, before a decision is taken on the priorities.
This approach ensures the existing process is operating at maximum efficiency before additional investment is considered.
Since being established in 1988, Opus has carried out verification, optimisation and development on most commonly used separation and produced water treatment technologies in the oil and gas industry. This includes hands-on experience with all technologies installed on the Al Shaheen process platforms.
It has also delivered or is delivering BAT and BEP studies for a number of facilities including the effluent treatment plant at Talisman’s Flotta Terminal; Maersk’s Gryphon, GPIII and Janice FPSO units; BP’s Amethyst Field and Premier Oil’s Solan Field.
Notes to editors
The OSPAR Convention, the result of ministerial meetings of the Oslo and Paris commissions in 1992, sets out a legal framework guiding international cooperation on the protection of the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.
Opus’s ingenuity and technical expertise have won it the Best Oil and Gas Industry Service Supplier Award from the industry organisation Energy North, whose 170 members operate in this sector across the globe.
For more information contact
John Ross
Lucid PR
01463 724593; 07730 099617
johnross@lucidmessages.com
Tags:
