Water use

At our Groundbirch development in north-east British Columbia, Canada, we are finding ways to reduce the amount of fresh water from local sources in producing tightly trapped natural gas.

We built and started operating a water storage and recycling facility in 2010. Pipelines transport the water to where it is needed in the field, limiting truck movements. We are also studying the size and quality of deep saline aquifers in the area to possibly reduce the need for fresh-water resources in the future.

In 2010 we agreed to provide C$9.75 million towards a water recycling plant for the nearby city of Dawson Creek. The city will provide C$1.75 million. The plant will treat water so that it can be reused in our operations and for other industrial and municipal uses, such as water for sports fields.

Our advanced technology helps to make the raw material that goes into producing plastics and fabrics using less water.

We use advanced technology to help reduce fresh water use in our chemicals manufacturing. For example, the new mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) plant at our petrochemicals complex in Singapore uses Shell’s proprietary OMEGA technology to make MEG – a raw material used in products such as polyester and anti-freeze. The OMEGA process uses 20% less steam and generates around 30% less waste water compared to conventional processes.

Shell is finding ways to further limit water use in turning Brazilian sugar cane into ethanol.

Shell has moved into the production of the lowest-carbon biofuel commercially available, Brazilian sugar-cane ethanol. Brazilian sugar cane needs virtually no irrigation to grow because of high seasonal rainfall. Raízen, the joint venture between Shell and Cosan, uses around 10 litres of water to produce each litre of ethanol. It recycles about 90% of the water used in 19 of its 24 mills and plans to introduce the same system for the rest. Blowing the cane clean in some mills further reduces the need for water.

Finding new ways to reduce our fresh water use and to reuse waste water in Qatar.

We have built the world’s largest gas to liquids (GTL) plant, Pearl GTL, in the Qatari desert with our partner Qatar Petroleum.

The GTL plant will produce at least as much water as GTL products, mainly from the chemical reaction that is the first step in turning the natural gas into GTL products. Pearl GTL’s water treatment plant will purify the water for reuse, for example, for steam and cooling water.

Working to find ways to clean water for potential use by local communities.

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO, Shell share 34%) operates in some locations where water is extremely scarce, yet it produces nearly five barrels of water for every barrel of oil. At the Nimr oil field, around 250,000 m3 of contaminated water is brought to the surface together with the oil. The water must be disposed of and this adds to the cost of production.

In 2008, PDO engaged German company Bauer Resources to build the world's biggest commercial reed-bed sewage treatment plant, covering 235 hectares. Since its start-up in 2010 the plant has been cleaning about 47,000m³ of water each day. This approach has the potential to make water available for use by locals.

The plant uses micro-organisms to clean contaminants, removing oil and leaving salt, which can be processed to industrial salt. Biomass is also produced and can be used as an energy source.

In 2011, Bauer Resources GmbH received the Global Water Award for “Industrial Water Project of the Year” for the plant. PDO plans to double to water quantity, so the plant can eventually treat 95,000 m³ of contaminated water each day.

Using recycled water to reduce pressure on drinking water supplies in South Africa.

Our joint venture SAPREF refinery in Durban, South Africa, has a 20-year agreement to use water recycled from households to meet part of its needs. In this water-stressed area of South Africa, reusing water reduces pressure on drinking water supplies.

Durban Water Recycling is expanding its facilities to supply SAPREF. The company cleans household wastewater for industrial use. The refinery will replace around a third of the fresh water it uses for process cooling and to make steam.

Shell is developing advanced technologies to increase water treatment and recycling in Athabasca.

The oil sands are becoming an important resource to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. Water is needed in the process to separate the oil from the clay and sand. Operators must manage water use responsibly to limit the use of fresh resources.

At the Athabasca oil sands project in Canada, Shell uses 2-3 barrels of water to extract one barrel of bitumen. We recycle all the water recovered from this extraction process, but need fresh water to replace the water that evaporates. We have a permit to use 0.6% of the Athabasca River’s flow but in 2010 we only used a small fraction of our allowance.

When oil is extracted from oil sands, a mixture of water, coarse sand, silt, clay and a little oil remains. This mixture, known as tailings, is stored in a pond near the oil sands mine. We monitor, control and reuse this water: none is released directly into the environment.

Our new tailings demonstration project is designed to accelerate water removal from tailings and make it available for further reuse. Since 2006, we have invested more than $98 million in research that also helped to develop this new technology.

Our Schoonebeek oil field in the Netherlands will resume operations, injecting steam from recycled water to extract oil.

Our joint venture Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) is the lead partner in the Schoonebeek oil field. When Schoonebeek resumes operations it will receive pure water from a special plant being constructed at a nearby waste-water purification facility.

The plant will take in treated sewage water from the facility and purify it further, producing ‘’ultra-pure” water. It may produce up to 10,000 m3 of ultra-pure water daily. The substances removed will be returned to the purification plant for a second purification process. This reduces the amount of sewage sludge that would otherwise be pumped out. The plant incorporates some of the most advanced water purification technologies.

Working with a regional water authority in Australia we aim to reduce pressure on local water supplies and help provide water to the community.

Our Geelong refinery is in a drought-stricken region of Victoria, Australia. But like all refineries it needs water for processing.

Along with the regional water authority, Barwon Water, we are building a water recycling plant. The plant will recycle water from the refinery and sewage from neighbouring areas for industrial use and for nearby community sports grounds. The AU$90 million plant is due to begin operating in 2012. Barwon Water will build, own and operate it. We are contributing half the cost, with the rest from Barwon Water and the government.