Greentech Lead America: RWL Water Group, a New
York-based water treatment company, is constructing a “produced
water” desalination plant for Pacific Rubiales Energy, a leading
independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Colombia.
The plant will be located at Pacific Rubiales’ oil field
in the Meta region of Puerto Gaitan and will produce 500,000 water barrels per
day. The produced water, a by-product of the petroleum extraction, will be
treated by the Nirosoft water purification system to meet environmental
discharge requirements.
The water treatment system will replace the current process
whereby produced water is disposed by deep well injection. The system will
provide desalinated water for agricultural use to grow trees, thus alleviating
costs and improving sustainability standards.
The project was awarded to RWL subsidiary Nirosoft, which
will also provide operation and maintenance (O&M) of the plant for a period
of ten years.
The water treatment  plant has addressed significant
technological challenges involving the removal of hydrocarbons. The plant will
consist of various pre-treatment stages with innovative separation and
filtration technologies, prior to the high recovery reverse osmosis system. It
will further limit environmental impact by minimizing brine rejection with a
final sludge treatment.
 “This is an exciting win-win project for
Pacific Rubiales, providing an innovative, lower cost and sustainable
alternative to manage water production from our Rubiales oil field, as well as
establishing a new green industry that benefits the region. We needed a partner
with leading edge technology and global experiences,” said Ronald Pantin,
Pacific Rubiales CEO. “We couldn’t be happier with the selection of
Nirosoft Industries Ltd., and are looking forward to a strong working
relationship.”