Oil and Gas Drilling
In the drilling industry, drilling muds are pumped to the drill face to remove debris. The mud returns to the surface carrying the drilling debris. Drilling mud is a complex mixture of fluids, solids and chemicals. Particular functions of the drilling mud include cooling the bit, lifting rock cuttings to the surface, preventing destabilization of the rock in the wellbore walls and overcoming the pressure of fluids inside the rock so that these fluids don’t enter the wellbore. It is the spent drilling fluid which becomes a liquid waste and must be disposed of in an environmentally safe fashion.
This is a large market with significant potential. Drilling rig operators report that as much as 20% of the cost of a drilling program is currently used for waste removal. In Western Canada alone during the last six years there have been on average 20,887 wells completed each year. Over 22,000 permits were issued in Alberta for new exploration/test wells in 2008. Each well produces 300 cubic meters of drill mud on average.
The applicability of the Real-Time-Solidification process to the oil drilling industry is high. Access to this market is either directly to the drilling rig operator or to the Liquid Waste Service companies that transform and dispose of the drilling liquid waste.
BENEFITS OF R-T-STM
Reduced cost
- Reduced transportation costs from drill site to TRD
- Reduced disposal cost of solid vs liquid waste
- Reduced volume if solid is on-lease through liquid evaporation
- Solids can be used in berm material
- Can reduce or eliminate the use of expensive vacuum trucks
Environmental
- Solids will not leach and ties up contaminants effectively
- Reduce the requirement for large liquid storage
- Reduces carbon footprint through the use of fewer heavy vehicles
- Can be applied to MFT’s
- Work in conjunction with current environmental remediation technology to enhance throughput
- Met Vane testing criteria for 5 kPa shear strength after 17 days(ERCB Directive 74)
- Effective in remote or environmentally sensitive areas
Simple to Use
- Designed to work in rugged conditions
- Small, portable footprint
- Operator friendly
- Training and support provided through MetaFLO
- Fewer activities to manage
- High throughput of liquid waste