The generic mud concept for offshore drilling for NPDES permitting

Conference · Tue Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5699215

Ayers, R C; Anderson, P W; Sauer, T C

U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region II granted the first offshore drilling NPDES permits to the mid-Atlantic Operators in 1978. The generic or standard mud concept was developed by the Offshore Operators Committee with EPA Region II in order to provide the agency with an understanding of and control over mud components and discharges without requiring the operators to perform redundant bioassay and chemical tests every time mud was discharged. The generic mud concept has subsquently been incorporated into permits issued by EPA Regions I and IX. Regions III and X are considering the use of generic muds in future permits. Eight basic mud types were defined which encompassed virtually all water base muds used on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). A bioassay test procedure, adapted from the EPA/Corp of Engineers' Procedure for dredged material, was developed and a test program conducted on samples of field muds, representative of each of the eight basic types. Operators were then allowed to discharge muds of the eight types without conducting additional bioassays. Results of the test program indicate that all eight generic muds demonstrated low toxicity. The API is developing a standard bioassay procedure based on the Region II protocol for testing of specialty chemicals in standard muds.

• Research Organization: EXXON Production Research Co.
• OSTI ID: 5699215
• Report Number(s): CONF-830203-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States) Journal Volume: IADC/SPE 11399
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
020400 -- Petroleum-- Processing
03 NATURAL GAS
030300 -- Natural Gas-- Drilling
Production
& Processing
030800 -- Natural Gas-- Environmental Aspects
ADDITIVES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DRILLING
DRILLING FLUIDS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUIDS
MANAGEMENT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OIL WELLS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TOXICITY
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WELL DRILLING
WELLS