Options and costs for offsite disposal of oil and gas exploration and production wastes.
Abstract
In the United States, most of the exploration and production (E&P) wastes generated at onshore oil and gas wells are disposed of or otherwise managed at the well site. Certain types of wastes are not suitable for onsite management, and some well locations in sensitive environments cannot be used for onsite management. In these situations, operators must transport the wastes offsite for disposal. In 1997, Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) prepared a report that identified offsite commercial disposal facilities in the United States. This information has since become outdated. Over the past year, Argonne has updated the study through contacts with state oil and gas agencies and commercial disposal companies. The new report, including an extensive database for more than 200 disposal facilities, provides an excellent reference for information about commercial disposal operations. This paper describes Argonne's report. The national study provides summaries of the types of offsite commercial disposal facilities found in each state. Data are presented by waste type and by disposal method. The categories of E&P wastes in the database include: contaminated soils, naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), oil-based muds and cuttings, produced water, tank bottoms, and water-based muds and cuttings. The different waste management or disposal methodsmore »
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- FE; NETL
- OSTI Identifier:
- 982602
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/EVS/CP-58197
TRN: US201015%%1212
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- Resource Type:
- Conference
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: SPE E&P Environmental and Safety Conference; Mar. 5, 2007 - Mar. 7, 2007; Galveston, TX
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
- Subject:
- 03 NATURAL GAS; EXPLORATION; GROUND DISPOSAL; MANAGEMENT; NATURAL GAS WELLS; OILS; PRODUCTION; RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS; SAFETY; SALT CAVERNS; SOLAR PROTONS; WASTE MANAGEMENT; WASTES; WATER
Citation Formats
Puder, M. G., Veil, J. A., and Environmental Science Division. Options and costs for offsite disposal of oil and gas exploration and production wastes.. United States: N. p., 2007.
Web.
Puder, M. G., Veil, J. A., & Environmental Science Division. Options and costs for offsite disposal of oil and gas exploration and production wastes.. United States.
Puder, M. G., Veil, J. A., and Environmental Science Division. Mon .
"Options and costs for offsite disposal of oil and gas exploration and production wastes.". United States.
doi:.
@article{osti_982602,
title = {Options and costs for offsite disposal of oil and gas exploration and production wastes.},
author = {Puder, M. G. and Veil, J. A. and Environmental Science Division},
abstractNote = {In the United States, most of the exploration and production (E&P) wastes generated at onshore oil and gas wells are disposed of or otherwise managed at the well site. Certain types of wastes are not suitable for onsite management, and some well locations in sensitive environments cannot be used for onsite management. In these situations, operators must transport the wastes offsite for disposal. In 1997, Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) prepared a report that identified offsite commercial disposal facilities in the United States. This information has since become outdated. Over the past year, Argonne has updated the study through contacts with state oil and gas agencies and commercial disposal companies. The new report, including an extensive database for more than 200 disposal facilities, provides an excellent reference for information about commercial disposal operations. This paper describes Argonne's report. The national study provides summaries of the types of offsite commercial disposal facilities found in each state. Data are presented by waste type and by disposal method. The categories of E&P wastes in the database include: contaminated soils, naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), oil-based muds and cuttings, produced water, tank bottoms, and water-based muds and cuttings. The different waste management or disposal methods in the database involve: bioremediation, burial, salt cavern, discharge, evaporation, injection, land application, recycling, thermal treatment, and treatment. The database includes disposal costs for each facility. In the United States, most of the 18 billion barrels (bbl) of produced water, 149 million bbl of drilling wastes, and 21 million bbl of associated wastes generated at onshore oil and gas wells are disposed of or otherwise managed at the well site. However, under certain conditions, operators will seek offsite management options for these E&P wastes. Commercial disposal facilities are offsite businesses that accept and manage E&P wastes for a fee. Their services include waste management and disposal, transportation, cleaning of vehicles and tanks, disposal of wash water, and, in some cases, laboratory analysis. Commercial disposal facilities offer a suite of waste management methods and technologies.},
doi = {},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2007},
month = {Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2007}
}
-
In the United States, most exploration and production (E&P) wastes generated at onshore oil and gas wells--contaminated soils, naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), oil-based muds and cuttings, produced water, tank bottoms, and water-based muds and cuttings--are disposed of or otherwise managed at the well site. Some of these E&P wastes, however, are not suitable for onsite management, and some well locations in sensitive environments cannot be used for onsite management. In these situations, operators must find offsite waste-disposal solutions. Responding to this need, offsite commercial disposal facilities are businesses that charge a fee for accepting and managing E&P wastes generatedmore »
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Offsite commercial disposal of oil and gas exploration and production waste :availability, options, and cost.
A survey conducted in 1995 by the American Petroleum Institute (API) found that the U.S. exploration and production (E&P) segment of the oil and gas industry generated more than 149 million bbl of drilling wastes, almost 18 billion bbl of produced water, and 21 million bbl of associated wastes. The results of that survey, published in 2000, suggested that 3% of drilling wastes, less than 0.5% of produced water, and 15% of associated wastes are sent to offsite commercial facilities for disposal. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) collected information on commercial E&P waste disposal companies in different states in 1997. Whilemore » -
Disposal of oil field wastes into salt caverns: Feasibility, legality, risk, and costs
Salt caverns can be formed through solution mining in the bedded or domal salt formations that are found in many states. Salt caverns have traditionally been used for hydrocarbon storage, but caverns have also been used to dispose of some types of wastes. This paper provides an overview of several years of research by Argonne National Laboratory on the feasibility and legality of using salt caverns for disposing of oil field wastes, the risks to human populations from this disposal method, and the cost of cavern disposal. Costs are compared between the four operating US disposal caverns and other commercialmore » -
Report to Congress: management of wastes from the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy. Volume 3. Appendices. A. Summary of state oil and gas regulations. B. Glossary of terms for Volume 1. C. Damage case summaries
Section 3001(b)(2)(A) of the 1980 Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) temporarily exempted several types of solid waste from regulation under the Federal hazardous-waste control program. These exempted wastes included drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil or natural gas or geothermal energy. Section 8002(m) of the RCRA Amendments requires EPA to study these wastes and submit a final report to Congress. The report responds to those requirements. This is volume 3 of 3 reports to Congress. The volume contains the Appendices which include a summary of:more » -
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Section 3001(b) (2) (A) of the 1980 Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) temporarily exempted several types of solid waste from regulation under the Federal hazardous-waste control program. This volume covers the oil and gas industry. The report was designed to respond specifically to each of the study factors that are listed in the various paragraphs of Section 8002(m) of RCRA. Each study factor is addressed in separate chapters or sections of chapters. Following the design, the volume includes: (1) a description of the oil and gas industry; (2) definition of exempt waste, including the scope ofmore »