Brief

At an active bulk fuel facility on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, historical spills and leaks had resulted in up to 1.8 metres of gasoline oating on the water table. The site and geographic location required a exible, low-infrastructure solution that could withstand the extreme climactic conditions without interfering with the facility’s operations.

The oil & gas company hired a local environmental consulting firm to characterize the site. On behalf of their client, the firm tendered an initial pilot project to five companies for bid. IRSL earned the pilot project based on their price and innovative approach.

Process

To meet the challenges associated with this site, IRSL recommended extracting the LNAPL (Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid) through vacuum-enhanced extraction wells instrumented with pneumatic skimmers. A full-time engineer remained on-site for the project’s 4-year duration to continuously adjust and optimize the system.

Free product removal was completed through vacuum extraction wells instrumented with pneumatic skimmers equipped with hydrophobic filters. The filters allowed only the LNAPL to pass, leaving the water behind, while the vacuums increased the radius of the skimmers.

Results

Over 30,000 litres of gasoline were removed over the course of the project.

The extracted liquid was greater than 99.998% gasoline, minimizing the need to treat extraneous water and translating into real cost savings for the client.

The purity of the gasoline enabled the company to stream it into their production, effectively paying for the project.

The pilot project was deemed a complete success, initiating plans for several full-scale projects

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