Publications

Currently, the water crisis during dry season in Indonesia remains un-solved. In the oil and gas producing areas, for instance: Pekanbaru and Balikpapan, are also dealing with this problem. On the other side, produced-water has been significantly pumped over the years from the oil wells. This un-wanted fluid must be treated prior to disposal or re-injected to sub-surface in accordance to the Ministry of Environment regulations. This paper evaluates possible options to utilize produced water as an alternative to support demand of water in the worst water crisis scenario. A literature review using Google Scholar and Scopus database were conducted based on the existing conditions of the produced-water and available water treatment technologies. Desalination technology has been developed rapidly in the last 10 years. It has capability to transform, to some extent, highly saline water to potable water (TDS < 600 ppm), with the maximum cost of USD 2/m3 (lower at many cases). Although RO is able to remove most of organic compounds, however utilizing produced water after being treated as potable water must be carefully evaluated for each site. Several stages of pre and post treatment are still needed to control the quality of the treated water. Utilizing produced water as “last resources” for non-drinking water is still possible, for example as a backup of primary water source which in average it would be sufficient for three to four months of scarcity period, as this also depends on available budget eg from government. The preferable option is still to utilize the excess water during wet/rainy season which could be exploited using ASR (Aquifer Storage and Recovery) technology which currently still become a challenge for the geologists and environmental engineers. Keywords: Produced Water, Produced Water Treatment, Water Scarcity