Produced water is a term used in the oil industry to describe water that is produced when oil and gas are extracted from the ground. Oil and gas reservoirs have a natural water layer (formation water) that lies under the hydrocarbons. Oil reservoirs frequently contain large volumes of water, while gas reservoirs tend to have smaller quantities. To achieve maximum oil recovery additional water is often injected into the reservoirs to help force the oil to the surface. Both the formation water and the injected water are eventually produced along with the oil and therefore as the field becomes depleted the produced water content of the oil increases.
Read more about Produced Water: Waste Re-use and Disposal
Famous quotes containing the words produced and/or water:
“Much of our American progress has been the product of the individual who had an idea; pursued it; fashioned it; tenaciously clung to it against all odds; and then produced it, sold it, and profited from it.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul
after thee, O God.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm XLII (l. XLII, 1)