Experts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday raised the possibility of using a new source which could contribute to increasing the wealth of water resources by using the water produced from oil fields. Dr. William Connor, an advisor at the Department of Environmental Protection at the Saudi Aramco Company said that there are more than 200 million barrels of water produced from oil fields, pointing out that it can be used in the agriculture sector. According to him, initial findings have indicated the importance of this technology to boost crop yields, and saving "natural waters" from the irrigation process.
The expert was speaking during his participation at the second session in the third and final day of the Forum for Water and Energy, held in Jeddah (western Saudi Arabia). The forum was held under the title "water and oil production". It addressed issues concerning the cooperation and interaction between the oil industry and the water sector.
During his comments, Dr. Connor stressed that the world is currently facing a major challenge, as a result of the acute shortage of water resources from one hand and rising demand from the other hand. Thus, according to him, the water sector needs innovative technologies to help reduce this shortfall, and assist countries to face this crisis. The expert noted that the ultimate goal of these techniques is to find new water resources.
Regarding Aramco's use of huge quantities of groundwater to extract oil, he said the company reduced the use of groundwater and replaced it with less expensive ways and with better quality.
