At 5ppm dilution the area of impact could be 246,000km2. Drill Cuttings Joint Industry Project. Even after separation and cleaning in special units, drilling cuttings still contain a wide array of organic and inorganic traces especially when oil-based fluids are used. Drilling cuttings usually go overboard the offshore oil platforms in thousands and tens of thousands of tons. Hundreds of tons of oil and dozens of tons of chemical for each drilled well can enter the marine environment with these discharges.
Most researchers believe that the main toxic agents in drilling cuttings are oil and oil products.
These accumulate in the solid phase of drilling cuttings when crude oil and drilling fluids contact cuttings during oil extraction. The attention of researches has been concentrated on assessing the ecological effects of oil-containing drilling cuttings after they are discharged and distributed in bottom sediments around the offshore oil platforms. Here, the levels of oil pollution are hundreds and thousands of times higher than any background characteristics. Technical Report - Drill Cuttings Joint Industry Project. Phase I Summary Report.