International energy company ConocoPhillips sponsored the Applied Technology Workshop of the Society of Petroleum Engineers recently. The three-day event, held at Sharq Village and Spa, focused on “Water Management: Turning a liability into an opportunity”.ConocoPhillips Global Water Sustainability Centre (GWSC) managing director Dr Samer Adham, principal scientist Dr Samir Gharfeh, and scientist Dr Isik Turkmen represented the company in the workshop.Dr Adham, a panellist of the brainstorming session on “Effective usage of disposable water”, encouraged the participants to share water management experience and the challenges they face from the reservoir through the processing facilities and final disposition.During the session, different teams addressed respective areas of expertise and interests, suggesting improvements and solutions, culminating in group findings and recommendations.“Such gatherings are essential for our work and for the industry at large,” he observed.Dr Gharfeh contributed to the session on “Water quality and treatment”, which discussed the need for “processes” to accommodate the large volumes of produced water generated during oil and gas production.Dr Gharfeh stated: “Technology advancement, increasing demand for fresh water resources, and stringent regulations regarding the discharge of produced water have created the potential for treatment of oilfield water to be cost-effective.”He explained that water chemistry and characteristics are very important factors in determining the optimum treatment methods that are feasible for converting the water to beneficial uses.This session provided a forum to discuss the latest technological developments as well as current practices and trends in produced water monitoring and treatment.“We managed to come up with interesting and creative research solutions that will be undoubtedly put to good use by attendees and their companies,” he added.At a gala dinner hosted by ConocoPhillips for the workshop’s participants and guests at Sharq Village, ConocoPhillips Qatar president Erec Isaacson expressed his company’s appreciation of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) activities.“SPE’s diligent efforts to stay abreast of the challenges of the petrochemical industry are to be commended. “Such workshops represent an important venue for the meeting of like minds and the sharing of expertise.“I strongly believe that pooling our respective efforts and experiences will only enhance our collective performance and allow for important breakthroughs that are much needed in our business,” he added.