Offshore oil and gas wells sometimes require stimulation to remove formation damage and improve production. The chemicals used in stimulation packages and the low pH of the fluids can cause a difficult to resolve emulsion that creates upsets in the operation of the platform crude oil and water treating systems. These upsets result in oil that does not meet pipeline specifications and water that cannot be discharged overboard. Out-of-spec oil is temporarily stored in a wet oil tank; however, on offshore platforms storage is limited and when the capacity is exceeded the entire production from the platform must be shut in until the out-of-spec fluids can be processed or shipped to a land-based handling facility. The low pH and high organic content of the water from the stimulated well returns can cause upsets in the water treatment system resulting in overboard water discharge that is out of compliance. This also can result in a shut down of production.

A novel program has been developed which eliminates the difficult to resolve emulsion resulting from stimulated wells by using a unique combination of products custom tailored for each offshore production platform. The program prevents out-of-spec oil by allowing for complete emulsion resolution in the test separator. This eliminates the possibility of a complete production shut-in period. The water from the test separator is processed in a two step treatment which removes free oil and dissolved organics to a level that is acceptable for overboard discharge. This system generates no waste byproducts. The oil and gas production of a platform can be maximized by pursuing more aggressive stimulation schedules on single or multiple wells without risking an out of compliance operation or excessive disposal costs.

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