Novel Fluid Design Can Eliminate OBM-Cuttings Waste (2006)

Novel fluid design can eliminate OBM cuttings waste Steven Young; Steven Young MI - LLC Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Stephen Rabke Stephen Rabke M-I SWACO Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, June 2006. Paper Number: SPE-100292-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/100292-MS Published: June 12 2006 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Young, Steven, and Stephen Rabke. "Novel fluid design can eliminate OBM cuttings waste." Paper presented at the SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria, June 2006. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/100292-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Europec featured at EAGE Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search AbstractWith an ever increasing pressure on drilling performance and economics, the use of invert emulsion fluids has continued to be a necessity. Increased environmental responsibility has brought with it an increase in the cost and liability associated with responsible disposal of contaminated drill cuttings. In environmentally sensitive areas, it is unlikely that any discharges of contaminated cuttings will be permitted. Subsurface injection cannot be used as a solution in all cases, so other treatment methods must be found to minimize future environmental liability.Developing invert emulsion drilling fluids designed to meet the demands of high-performance drilling and have chemical characteristics that can be used to optimize contaminated cuttings treatment has been key in minimizing environmental impact. Developing efficient treatment techniques tailored to the local environment has been equally important. The environmental responsibility picture has been completed by combining the chemistry and treatments to produce an end product that can be beneficially re-used in the local environment.The authors will discuss the design changes in drilling fluid chemistry and show the field performance of these fluids. The associated treatment techniques that can be applied will also be reviewed, along with the local environmental climate required to ensure successful application of such treatments. The authors also will review the potential for beneficial reuse of contaminated cuttings in this context and show field trial results.IntroductionHistorically, drilling fluids having a hydrocarbon-based continuous phase have shown superior drilling performance when compared to water-based drilling fluids. Initially, crude oil and diesel were used as the primary base fluids, these being slowly changed to mineral oils, then low aromatic mineral oils out of concern for occupational health and safety, as well as the environment. The impact of discharging cuttings contaminated with such fluids into a marine environment has been a subject of concern and study for years. A number of studies have led to strict discharge guidelines being enforced regarding the types of fluids that can be used and discharged and the levels of discharge allowed. Novel drilling fluid systems, based on environmentally acceptable synthetic hydrocarbons, have been succesfully developed meeting the technological and environmental challenges of operating and discharging in the offshore environment. Similar criteria for drilling fluid choice with respect to technical performance exists for drilling wells on land; however, significantly less study has been undertaken to categorize the effects of discharged drill cuttings contaminated with hydrocarbons in a terrestrial environment. Some work has been conducted on the type and amount of salts used in fluids for land operations. Their environmental profile, however, has never been fully optimized.Disposal of hydrocarbon-contaminated cuttings can be a major issue in land drilling, particularly in remote areas. In most countries; regulatory limits on the electrical conductivity of water run-off, total oil and grease, and heavy metals make biological remediation of contaminated cuttings to regulatory approved levels a slow and lengthy process.[1,2] Such disposal issues become compounded with the drive toward zero discharge in the offshore environment, sometimes necessitating transportation of contaminated cuttings and fluids back to land for treatment and disposal.The high-performance, synthetic-based, invert emulsion drilling fluid described in this paper is engineered with chemicals specifically chosen for their enhanced biodegradation and low toxicity characteristics. The fluid is formulated for cost-effective drilling and gives all the performance benefits of these types of fluids, but has been specifically designed to degrade using land-based bioremediation techniques, such as landfarming, vermiculture, composting, bioreactors, and biopiles with minimal organic and inorganic residues. Matching the drilling fluid design with the optimum treatment method allows the contaminated cuttings to be readily and rapidly remediated to meet the regulatory requirements for discharge on land.Taking this technology one step further, the correct remediation techniques and appropriately designed drilling fluid can be processed in such a way that the contaminated cuttings become a useful adjunct to a beneficial reuse technique, resulting in an end product that, rather than being treated for disposal, can be a useful top-soil substitute, or even used as fertilizer. Keywords: drilling fluid chemistry, drilling fluid formulation, remediation, toxicity, drilling fluid property, concentration, particle, biodegradability, hydrocarbon, drilling fluid selection and formulation Subjects: Drilling Fluids and Materials, Drilling fluid selection and formulation (chemistry, properties) This content is only available via PDF. 2006. 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