VWS Westgarth has delivered the first process package of their sulphate removal (SRP) water treatment system for the Total Block 17 Angola FPSO Pazflor. The membrane pre-filtration module was built in the Dyna-Mac fabrication yard in Singapore.
This technology-leading system is the company’s second combination of membrane pre-filtration and membrane sulphate removal processes and the second such system in the world. The first one has been in operation on the Nexen Buzzard Platform in the North Sea since 2006.
VWS Westgarth’s membrane filtration system is an ideal platform for SRP pre-treatment, equipped with a complete barrier against particles larger than 0.1µ to remove almost all species that lead to SRP fouling and plant downtime due to membrane cleaning. The specialist sulphate removal process uses a membrane-based system removing sulphates and other divalent ions from the injection sea water to prevent the formation of barium sulphate and strontium sulphate scale in the sub-sea injection piping system and in the reservoir itself.
A step forward in the oil industry
Dave Sheldrake, managing director of VWS Westgarth said: “I am delighted with this achievement, which represents another market-leading success for Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies in the oil and gas industry and for VWS Westgarth’s water treatment technology. It is also a credit to the many people involved: our clients Total/Sonangol and DSME, our suppliers, our subcontractors and our own project management team.”
The completion of this process package was achieved in over 300,000 construction hours without any lost time incidents, which demonstrates VWS Westgarth’s commitment to maintaining the company’s HSE objective of nil accidents or incidents across all projects.
This project represents another step forward in VWS Westgarth’s increasing involvement in the support and development of the Angolan oil industry. The first Angolan offshore support engineers were recruited through the company’s established Angolan business unit and are currently in training at the company headquarters in Scotland.
Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies is the technical subsidiary of Veolia Water with 120 subsidiaries in more than 55 countries. VWS Westgarth is the market leader in the supply of SRP membrane systems and the leading water treatment company in upstream oil and gas.