New York, NY, August 27, 2012 – RWL Water Group, the New York based global water solutions provider, today announced a major contract awarded to the group's subsidiary, Nirosoft Industries Ltd., by Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX: PRE; BVC: PREC; BOVESPA: PREB), the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company in Colombia.The $100 million contract consists of the design and construction (EPC) of a "produced water" desalination plant, as well as the operation and maintenance (O&M) of this plant for a period of ten years. The plant will be located at Pacific Rubiales’ oil field in the Meta region of Puerto Gaitan and will produce 500,000 water barrels per day. The "produced water,” a by-product of the petroleum extraction, will be treated by the Nirosoft water purification system to meet environmental discharge requirements. Nirosoft’s treatment process will replace the current process whereby produced water is disposed by deep well injection, and will provide desalinated water for agricultural use to grow trees, thus alleviating costs and improving sustainability standards.

 

To develop a custom solution for this project, Nirosoft operated a pilot plant unit on-site for six months and optimized the process design on the basis of the test results.The final plant design has addressed significant technological challenges involving the removal of hydrocarbons. The plant will consist of various pre-treatment stages with innovative separation and filtration technologies, prior to the high recovery reverse osmosis system. The treatment plant will further limit environmental impact by minimizing brine rejection with a final sludge treatment.

 

 “We are very excited to have won this tender,” says Henry Charrabé, RWL Water Group CEO. “This project is another important milestone for the RWL Water Group in building our global experience and providing innovative water solutions for our customers.”

 

Along with continued development and remarkable results, Pacific Rubiales has displayed an ongoing awareness of the environment, seeking "green" solutions in cooperation with the Colombian environmental authorities and world leaders from the water treatment industry. These solutions, such as developed by Nirosoft, serve as global pioneering achievements, and will be further adopted for similar oil and gas applications worldwide.

 

"This is an exciting win-win project for Pacific Rubiales, providing an innovative, lower cost and sustainable alternative to manage water production from our Rubiales oil field, as well as establishing a new green industry that benefits the region. We needed a partner with leading edge technology and global experiences," says Ronald Pantin, Pacific Rubiales CEO. "We couldn't be happier with the selection of Nirosoft Industries Ltd., and are looking forward to a strong working relationship."

 

Nirosoft Industries Ltd. is a part of the RWL Water Group portfolio, which also includes Aeromix Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and Eurotec WTT S.r.l. in Italy. Services from all three companies are offered to each RWL Water customer. RWL Water is a global water solution provider based in New York, with offerings ranging from conceptual design to turnkey projects including project financing (BOT) as well as the operation and maintenance of water, wastewater, and waste-to-energy treatment plants worldwide.