In this Produced Water Document by John Veil at Argonne National Labs, the following topics are addressed:
• What is produced water?
• What is in produced water?
• Approaches to minimize risk – U.S. approach – North Sea approach
• Why are there differences?

Conclusions are on pages 39-40. They are as follows:
"Oil and grease is the baseline of produced water regulatory controls in most countries
• Most jurisdictions use additional controls beyond oil and grease imits

• The two best-established systems (U.S. and North Sea) have followed dramatically different approaches to manage produced water risk
– Both approaches successfully manage risk but place the management controls on opposite ends of the process

• North Sea emphasizes inputs
• U.S. emphasizes outputs

Is one approach better than the other?
– One may be more effective than the other in some situations
– Conversely, one may be more constraining or restrictive than needed to ensure environmental protection"