2009 Case Studies

Case Study

Water: A global issue requiring local solutions

Water is an essential, life-sustaining resource. Sustainable and reliable availability of fresh water is critical to society and our industry.

At ExxonMobil, we are committed to helping develop human, social, and economic capacity in a way that benefits communities and our business over the long term. We recognize our responsibility to surrounding communities and the environment to manage our freshwater use in a sustainable manner, and to respect human rights.

Energy and water are intimately connected, as it takes water to produce energy and energy to extract, treat, and transport water. The industry’s freshwater demand is likely to increase as many of the low-carbon and renewable energy sources being considered as alternatives to traditional fuels are more water-intensive. A reliable supply of water is essential for the development of all sources of energy, both traditional and renewable.

Ensuring sufficient freshwater quantity and quality involves understanding supply and demand trends, assessing potential impacts on quality, and implementing steps to address trends and impacts. While water is a global issue, each situation requires an assessment of local supply, demand, and quality in order to determine appropriate and sustainable water uses. Our challenge is to apply technology and operational practices to enhance water use efficiency and protect water quality while delivering energy.

Effective water resource management

ExxonMobil takes seriously our responsibility to manage freshwater consumption in our operations. Our environment policy outlines our commitment to operating in a way that protects the environment and takes into account the economic and social needs of the communities where we operate, including effective management of fresh water. We apply a systematic approach to managing our freshwater consumption by assessing the availability and demands on water resources (using inputs such as the water scarcity map see below); seeking opportunities to reduce, reuse, and recycle fresh water; and treating any discharged water to acceptable levels.

For example, ExxonMobil Development Company’s Environmental Standard for Water Management requires projects in regions with limited fresh water to conduct an assessment of available resources and to identify mitigation options to reduce freshwater consumption. Options may include substituting lower-water-use technologies, reusing fresh water multiple times, reducing water losses, and using alternative sources such as produced water—the naturally occurring salt water that is brought to the earth’s surface with oil or natural gas. Our operations integrate water improvement targets in their respective Environmental Business Planning efforts.

In 2009, we established the Freshwater Issue Management Team to better understand the water-related risks and opportunities facing the company. The team assesses the potential impacts of emerging public water policies on our business and identifies available technologies and technology development opportunities to improve water management.

Sustaining freshwater availability by reducing consumption

Natural gas development in Colorado. Our natural gas project in the Piceance Basin in Colorado is being managed to increase natural gas production while reducing its environmental impact. One key challenge in producing natural gas from the Piceance Basin is the low permeability of the rock containing the gas. To enable the gas to flow, sand and high-pressure water must be forced through wells into the rock to create a network of fractures.

While fresh water was typically used for this purpose, we strive to make productive use of the nearly 14 million barrels a year of recovered water. This water is recycled and used for well completions stimulation and for drilling the deeper sections of Piceance wells. We expect to reduce our freshwater usage by about 35 percent in 2010 and 75 percent over the next few years compared to 2009 levels. This allows development areas of Piceance to use as little as one cup of fresh water for each 1000 cubic feet of gas produced. Fresh water will continue to be used for drilling shallow sections of the well to avoid contamination of surface water and soils.

Oil sands development in Alberta. A secure water supply is crucial for Imperial Oil’s Cold Lake in situ oil sands operation and the Kearl oil sands mining project, both situated in Alberta, Canada. In Alberta, about 5 percent of licensed water is allocated for use by the oil sands industry. Currently, only one-third of this allocation is used. The growth of the oil sands industry is located in Northern Alberta, where about 85 percent of the province’s water supply is located. Alberta Environ-ment regulates freshwater use and has established a target to increase water use efficiency by 30 percent in all sectors by 2015.

Our in situ operation uses 9000 to 11,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day from Cold Lake. Water treatment, recycling, and the use of produced water as an alternative allowed Imperial to reduce freshwater use by about 88 percent, equivalent to 0.5 cubic meters of water per cubic meter of oil, compared to 4 cubic meters of water per cubic meter of oil in the 1970s.

Imperial plans to implement additional projects over the next several years at Cold Lake, which, if successful, will reduce freshwater consumption by 30 percent and result in a step change improvement in freshwater use efficiency. For more information about oil sands, click here.

Refining and chemical operations in Singapore. Because fresh water is a very limited resource in Singapore, the government has adopted steps to meet increasing demand, including desalination, recycling wastewater, and collecting storm water.

Working in such an environment reinforces the importance of responsible water use in our operations. A significant amount of nonpotable industrial water and treated or recycled wastewater is used at our integrated manufacturing site in Singapore. In 2009, approximately 16 million cubic meters, or 87 percent of the Singapore manufacturing site’s water consumption, were supplied from either low-grade industrial water or treated wastewater. Our second petrochemical project currently being built in Singapore will, when completed, employ a variety of water-saving technologies, including wastewater treatment, sea water for certain cooling systems, and air coolers.

Through responsible and efficient water use, we have not only helped to reduce the pressure on local water resources, but also reduced annual operating costs. Two of the water saving projects in Singapore resulted in combined savings of approximately $1.7 million.

Lube oil blending in Colombia. Our Cartagena plant staff reduced freshwater consumption by well over 50 percent since 2007. The employee-led program entitled Cuidemos el Agua (Let’s Preserve our Water) consists of general education on conservation techniques, reuse of separator water for landscaping, and installation of automatic shutoffs on faucets. These efforts have reduced water use by nearly 8000 cubic meters per year.

Improving local freshwater supply

Safe water supplies and sanitation are essential for the health and social stability of a community. According to the World Health Organization, almost one-fifth of the world’s population lives in water-scarce areas and one-quarter lives in countries that face water shortages due to a lack of infrastructure. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals seek to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Water scarcity forces people to store water in unsanitary conditions or to utilize unsafe sources, increasing their risk of disease and providing breeding habitats for disease-carrying mosquitoes. The health impacts associated with inadequate water supplies undermine productivity and economic growth, particularly in developing countries.

Improving freshwater supply and sanitation in Indonesia. The lack of clean water is a serious risk for both public health and general prosperity in many areas of Indonesia. In an effort to eliminate the problems associated with lack of water and foster a positive relationship with local communities, we created a water and sanitation program to broaden access to clean water for Mobil Cepu Limited’s surrounding communities. The project incorporates community involvement through well drilling programs and water and sanitation committees. Community participation is a critical aspect in planning, designing, constructing, monitoring, and maintaining the water and sanitation distribution system. Eleven water and sanitation committees were developed and organized by villagers to build capacity and the technical knowledge to drill and construct their own water wells. Prior to the initiation of the project in 2008, residents had to travel by foot or bicycle over 3 kilometers to access clean water. Now, over 3000 households from 11 villages have access to clean water 24 hours a day. In addition, education about water and hygiene has greatly reduced the incidence of digestive diseases and increased a responsible attitude toward water management.

Providing potable water in the Philippines. Mapun Island in the Philippines is the closest community to ExxonMobil’s drilling and exploration operations in the South Sulu Sea. In May 2009, ExxonMobil and the Alternative Center for Organizational Reforms and Development (ACORD) conducted a community needs assessment of Mapun Island. About 130 representatives from five barangays (wards) participated to identify priority community needs on the island. The most critical need was access to potable water. Water access concerns include extended periods without rain (up to six months) and a water storage and distribution system in need of upgrading. Our community project will rebuild the pumping station that takes water from Singuwang Lake, build a new water distribution network, and install a generator. When completed in June 2010, the project will supply potable water to 13,000 residents, about half of the island’s total population. ACORD is preparing the island’s residents to take ownership of the water distribution system, together with the local government, to ensure the project continues to serve the community in the years ahead.