Water that is released during the production of gas, may only be poured back into the sea if it meets very strict standards. The more commonly used method of separating water and gas by means of gravity and filters was not only insufficiently effective, but also labor intensive and therefore expensive. Experiments that made use of an existing methanol recapture unit proved successful. The distillation column not only allows the removal of methanol from the production water, but also of carbohydrates. By now, the new method of separation is being used on various production platforms and is referred to as stripping.