The process of removing water from water-base drilling mud within a gas field. The best case is when one dewaters a well they don’t recharge with water.

Pipelines also undergo a dewatering process. After the lines are laid on the seabed and filled with water to allow them to be hydro-tested, the water is then swept from the line so it is ready to accommodate the gas or other chemical. The test water will have been treated with biocides and corrosion inhibitors. Regulation should require that these chemicals should be formulated so they are not a biological hazard.