Oman's MDO, PDO ink deal to support produced water desalination

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Minerals Development Oman (MDO), the government’s mining and mineral processing flagship, has signed a contract with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) for the development of the Qarn Al Alam Hypersaline Associated Produced Water Desalination project.

The initiative will allow MDO, a subsidiary of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), to treat the produced water from Qarn Alam to extract salts and minerals.

PDO added in a tweet that the contract will enable the majority state-owned energy company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs to further enhance its environmental and efficiency portfolio.

‘Produced water’ is a byproduct of the process of oil and gas production from reservoirs. Heavy saline for the most part, produced water may also contain very small amounts of hydrocarbons and chemicals that got mixed with it during the production process.

Treating produced water is one of the most expensive elements in oil and gas production. Huge amounts of produced water are generated in many fields in the southern part of the Sultanate of Oman. At Nimr, for example, PDO employs reed beds to treat produced water and to evaluate its potential for desert irrigation and farming.