Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is carrying out a pilot project to determine whether the large volumes of saline water produced from its oil wells can be purified with a distillation system based on a special membrane material. The project represents the system's first trial application by an exploration and production company anywhere in the world.

The pilot project is taking place under the auspices of PDO, Shell and Solar Dew, an independent offshoot of the Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel chemical company, which discovered the novel membrane material at the heart of the distillation system. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group owns the rights to the Solar Dew technology for oilfield applications.

The Solar Dew system complements the fields of salt-tolerant reeds cultivated at Nimr in south Oman. These reed beds have been shown to remove the residual oil from the saline water that is a by-product of crude-oil production. PDO produces approximately 600,000 cubic metres of such produced water every day (compared to 135,000 cubic metres of oil).

Once the oil has been removed by the reed beds, the produced water can be directed through the Solar Dew system, which then removes the salt as well as other chemical impurities. Joe Straccia, PDO's Technology Manager, explains: "The idea behind Solar Dew is to use the power of the sun to efficiently generate usable water from waste water, enabling new agricultural opportunities in the middle of the desert."

The system works by channelling the oil-free produced water through special tubes of the polymer developed by Solar Dew. As the water heats up in the sun, it "sweats" through the skin of the tube and condenses on the underside of a tarpaulin that covers the tubes. The condensed water - up to some 90% of the original volume - can then be collected; the residual brine remains inside the polymer tubes. The ultra-saline brine can be disposed of either by injecting it deep underground or in evaporation ponds.

So far, the distilled water production has exceeded expectations. As much as five litres of water per square metre per day can be produced. An analysis of the distilled water revealed that it meets the standards required of drinking water in Oman. In fact, the only difficulty so far with the Solar Dew pilot project is that the resulting water may be too pure: some minerals would have to be added back to the distilled water to make it drinkable.

If longer-term development efforts succeed in making the costs of the reed bed/Solar Dew scheme competitive with other waste-water disposal methods, then the scheme has to be an attractive option for Oman. It could provide a source of water for households and irrigation. It even opens up the possibility of growing high-value crops, such as lettuce and tomatoes. "The Department of Agriculture at Sultan Qaboos University are interested in this," confirms Joe Straccia, PDO's Technology Manager.

In a ceremony on Monday, 7 January, attended by a number of high-ranking Government officials and distinguished guests, HE Salim bin Mohammed bin Shaban al Ojaily, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil & Gas and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), officially opened PDO's Business Development Center. The Centre, which stands across the road from the Oil & Gas Exhibition Centre and Planetarium, is intended to encourage local businesses and community-based contractors.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, PDO's Managing Director Steve Ollerearnshaw said: "His Excellency is not only opening the building but also opening a new chapter in PDO's support for Omani businesses. By investing in the Centre, I believe that PDO is demonstrating in concrete terms that it is part and parcel of our business to help to develop the business of others."

The construction of the new, purpose-built Centre redouble PDO's efforts in support of local business initiatives. As expressed by Mr. Ollerearnshaw "through our local community contracting scheme, in a matter of three years, we have created employment for over 700 Omanis and awarded contracts worth a total value of RO 34 million in the interior of the country. With the opening of the Centre, our support moves up to another plane: we are now putting more focus on the development of all local businesses."

Because the Business Development Centre is located outside the restricted Mina al Fahal industrial are, any would-be entrepreneur can walk into the Centre to obtain information about doing business with PDO. In addition, visitors can use the Centre to help orientate them with respect to PDO's manner of conducting business. The Centre will also identify suitable work that can be put out to tender for small local businesses and ensure that local business gets proper representation in PDO's contracting strategies.

"It is important that we provide useful data to people outside of PDO and help them get their commercial bearings," says Said Al Kindy, PDO's Head of Business Development "We will help businesses to register as PDO contractors and show people how to find their way around PDO's commercial website. And we will be able to do all this in easily accessible, purpose-built offices."