Drilling for the exploration and extraction of oil requires the use of drilling fluids which are continuously pumped down and returned carrying the rock phase that is extracted from the well. The potential environmental impacts of contaminated fluids from drilling operations have attracted increasing community awareness and scrutiny. This review article highlights current advances in the treatment of drill cuttings and compares the technologies in terms of cost, time and space requirements. Traditionally, a range of non-biological methods have been employed for the disposal of drill cuttings including burial pits, landfills and re-injection, chemical stabilization and solidification and thermal treatments such as incineration and thermal desorption. More recently, bioremediation has been successfully applied as a treatment process for cuttings. This review provides a current comparison of bioremediation technologies and non-biological technologies for the treatment of contaminated drill cuttings providing information on a number of factors that need to be taken into account when choosing the best technology for drilling waste management including the environmental risks associated with disposal of drilling wastes.
Al-AnsaryMSAl-TabbaaA (2007) Stabilization/solidification of synthetic petroleum drill cuttings. Journal of Hazardous Materials141: 410–421.
2.
Anon (1980) Report and Recommendations on organic Farming Prepared by USDA Study Team on Organic Farming United States Department of Agriculture July 1980. Retrieved from http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/USDAOrgFarmRpt.pdf (accessed 9 August 2011).
ARPANSA (2008) Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Radiation Protection Series Publication No. 15, Published by the Chief Executive Officer of ARPANSA in August 2008. Available at: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/publications/codes/rps.cfm (accessed 13 January 2010).
5.
BansalKM, SPE, Conoco Inc. S. Sugiarto, and Conoco Indonesia Inc. Exploration and Production Operations – Waste Management A Comparative Overview: US and Indonesia Cases, 54345 MS. SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia, April 20–22 1999. Society of Petroleum Engineers.
6.
BellNCrippsSJJacobsenTKjeilenGPickenGB (1998) Review of Drill Cuttings Piles in the North Sea, A Report for the Offshore Decommissioning Communications Project. Aberdeen, UK: Cordah Environmental Consultants.
7.
BlackKSPattersonDMDavidsonIR (2002) Erosion of cuttings piles sediments: a laboratory fume study. Journal of the Society for Underwater Technology25: 51–59.
8.
BrakelJDaviesJBYuleGKThorntonJTO (1997). Cuttings re-injection in Brent reduces drilled cuttings discharge to sea, 37864-MS, SPE/UKOOA European Environment Conference, 15–16 April 1997, Aberdeen, United Kingdom. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Inc.
9.
CallahanMAStewartAJAlarconCMcMillenSJ (2002) Effects of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) straw additions on selected properties of petroleum-contaminated soils, Environmental. Toxicology and Chemistry21: 1658–1663.
10.
CarignanM-PLakeCBMenziesT (2007) Assessment of two thermally treated drilling mud wastes for landfill containment applications. Waste Management & Research25: 394–401.
11.
CasselsBWaiteA (2001) Regulatory management of NORM wastes from petroleum exploration in the Northern Territory. Radiation Protection Australia18: 16–34.
12.
CastaldiFJ (1993) Bio-Slurry Reaction System and Process for Hazardous Waste Treatment, US Patent, 5, 232, 596.
CeccantiBMasciandaroGGarciaCMacciCDoniS (2006) Soil bioremediation: combination of earthworms and compost for the ecological remediation of a hydrocarbon polluted soil. Water, Air & Soil Pollution177: 383–397.
15.
ChaîneauCHMorelJLOudotJ (1996) Land treatment of oil based drill cuttings in an agricultural soil. Journal of Environmental Quality24: 855–867.
16.
ChandlerAJEighmyTTHartlJ (eds.) (1997) “Solidification and stabilization”. Studies in Environmental Science67: 763–790.
17.
ChristodoulatosCKoutsospyrosA (1998) Bioslurry reactors. In: LewandowskiGADeFilippiLJ (eds.) Biological Treatment of Hazardous Waste. New York: Wiley, 69–101.
18.
ColeEMarkS (2000) E&P waste: manage it cost effectively through land farming. World Oil221: 132–134.
19.
CEC (Commission of the European Communities) (2000) List of hazardous waste (2000/532/EC) pursuant to Article 1(4) of Council Directive 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste, Official Journal of the European Communities L226 pp. 3–24. Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/ (accessed 23 November 2009).
20.
CooperMB (2005) Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Australian Industries – Review of Current Inventories and Future Generation. A report prepared for the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council. ERS-006, September 2005, 38 pp. Available at: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/norm/cooper_norm.pdf (accessed 29 October 2009).
21.
CranfordPJGordonDC (1991) Chronic sublethal impact of mineral oil-based drilling mud cuttings on adult sea scallops. Marine Pollution Bulletin22: 339–344.
22.
CranfordPJGordonDCJrLeeKArmsworthySLTremblayG-H (1999) Chronic toxicity and physical disturbance effects of water- and oil-based drilling fluids and some major constituents on adult sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus). Marine Environmental Research48: 225–256.
23.
CrawfordRL (2006) Bioremediation. In: DworkinMFalkowSRosenbergESchleiferK-HStackebrandtE (eds.) The Prokaryotes. Volume 1, New York, USA: Springer, 850–863.
24.
CrippsSJPickenGAabelJPAndersenOKHeyworthCJakobsenM. (1998) Disposal of Oil-based Cuttings, edn. Report RF-98/097. Norway: Rogaland Research for the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF).
25.
DaanRvan het GroenewoudHde JongAMulderM (1992) Physico-chemical and biological features of a drilling site in the North Sea, 1 year after discharges of oil-contaminated drill cuttings. Marine Ecology Progress Series91: 37–45.
26.
DaviesJMAddyJMBlackmanRABlanchardJRFerbracheJEMooreDCSomervilleHJWhiteheadAWilkinsonT (1984) Environmental effects of the use of Oil-based drilling muds in the North Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin15: 363–370.
27.
DiplockEEMardlinDPKillhamKSPatinGI (1999) Predicting bioremediation of hydrocarbons: Laboratory to field scale. Environmental Pollution157: 1831–1840.
28.
DornPBSalanitroJP (2000) Temporal ecological assessment of oil contaminated soils before and after bioremediation. Chemosphere40: 419–426.
29.
EPA Victoria (2003) EPA amends Gippsland water licence at Duston Downs. Media Release January 2003. Available at: www.epa.vic.gov.au) (accessed 29 October 2009).
FreemanHM (1997) Standard Handbook of Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal, 2nd edn. New York: McGraw Hill Companies Inc.
32.
GallegoJLRLoredoJLlamasJFVázquezFSánchezJBioremediation of diesel-contaminated soils: Evaluation of potential in situ techniques by study of bacterial degradation. Biodegradation12: 325–335.
33.
GESAMP (1993) Impact of Oil and Related Chemicals and Wastes on the MARINE Environment. GESAMP Report on Studies, 50: 1-180 Available at: http://gesamp.colibri.mc/common.php (accessed 19 November 2009).
34.
Gippsland Water, Soil and Organic Recycling Facility (2009) Oily Sludges, 2009. Available at: www.gippswater.com.au (accessed 29 October 2009).
35.
GrantABriggsAD (2002) Toxicity of sediments from around a North Sea oil platform: are metals or hydrocarbons responsible for ecological impacts?Marine Environmental Research53: 95–116.
HamedSBBelhadriM (2009) Rheological properties of biopolymers drilling fluids. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering67: 84–90.
38.
HesterMWShafferGPWillisJM (2003) Wetland Restoration Mesocosm Studies: Examination of Hematite-based Drilling Mud Phytotoxicity and Suitability as Wetland Substrate. Prepared by the University of New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana University, for the US Department of Energy National Petroleum Technology Office and United States DOE, Tulsa, OK.
39.
HickmanZAReidBJ (2008) Earthworm assisted bioremediation: theory and practice. Environment International34: 1072–1081.
40.
JørgensenKSPuustinenJSuorttiA-M (2000) Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon -contaminated soil by composting in biopiles. Environmental Pollution107: 245–254.
41.
JorissenFJBicchiEDucheminGDurrieuJGalganiFCazesL. (2009) Impact of oil-based drill mud disposal on benthic foraminiferal assemblages on the continental margin off Angola. Deep-Sea Research II56: 2270–2291.
42.
KhodjaMCanselierJPDaliCHafidSOuahabR (2007) A diagnostic of the treatment of oil well drilling waste in Algerian fields. Récens Progrèss en Génie des Procédés94: 1–11.
43.
KingstonPF (1992) Impact of offshore oil production installations on the benthos of the North Sea, ICES. Journal of Marine Science49: 45–53.
44.
KriipsaluMMarquesMNammariDRHoglandW (2007) Bio-treatment of oily sludge: the contribution of amendment material to the content of target contaminants, and the biodegradation dynamics. Journal of Hazardous Materials148: 616–622.
45.
KuhadRCGuptaR (2009) Biological remediation of petroleum contaminants. In: SinghAKuhadRCWardOP (eds.) Advances in Applied Bioremediation, Soil Biology. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 173–187.
46.
KuyukinaMSIvshinaIBRitchkovaMIPhilpJCCunninghamCJChristofiN (2003) Bioremediation of crude oil-contaminated soil using slurry-phase biological treatment and land farming techniques. Soil and Sediment Contamination12: 85–99.
47.
LeonardSAStegemannJA (2010) Stabilization/solidification of petroleum drill cuttings: leaching studies. Journal of Hazardous Materials174: 484–491.
48.
LineMAGarlandCDCrowleyM (1996) Evaluation of landfarm remediation of hydrocarbon- contaminated soil at the Inveresk Railyard, Launceston, Australia. Waste Management16: 567–570.
49.
Louisiana Administrative Code (2008) Title 43 Natural Resources Part XIX, Office of Conservation - General Operations, Subpart 1, Statewide Order No. 29-B 2008.Available at: http://dnr.louisiana.gov/ (accessed 08 December 2009).
50.
MarshR (2003) A database of archived drilling records of the drill cuttings piles at the North West Hutton oil platform. Marine Pollution Bulletin46: 587–593.
51.
MeredithRJ (1998) Engineers Handbook of Industrial Microwave Heating. London: Institution of Electrical Engineers, 377.
52.
McMillenSJKerrJMGrayNR (1993): Microcosm studies of factors that influence bioremediation of crude oils in soil. In: Exploration & Production Environments Conference, Texas, USA, SPE 25981, pp 389–400.
53.
McMillenSJMagawRICarovillanoRL (2001) Risk-based decision-making for assessing petroleum impacts at exploration and production sites, Editors McMillenS. J.MagawR. I.CarovillanoR. L.Washington DC: US Department of Energy and PERF. (ISBN 0-9717288-0-1).
54.
McMillenSJSmartRBernierR (2004) Biotreating E&P wastes: lessons learned from 1992–2003, SPE86794. Presented at the Seventh SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 29–31 March 2004. Available at: http://www.niochse.net/Download/pdffiles/papers/spe86794.pdf (accessed 24 November 2009).
55.
MorillonAVidalieJ-FHamzahUSSuripnoSHadinotoEK. (2002) Drilling and Waste Management. SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, 20–22 March 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Available at: http://www.onepetro.org/mslib/servlet/onepetropreview?id=00073931&soc=SPE (accessed 28 November 2009).
NeffJM (2005) Composition, Environmental Fates, and Biological Effect of Water-based Drilling Muds and Cuttings discharged to the Marine Environment: a Synthesis and Annotated Bibliography. Prepared for Petroleum Environmental Research Forum (PERF) and American Petroleum Institute (2005). Available at: www.perf.org/pdf/APIPERFreport.pdf (accessed 19 November 2009).
58.
NemerowNL (2007) Hazardous waste. Industrial Waste Treatment. Contemporary Practice and Vision for the Future. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 245–353.
59.
NEPC (1999) Schedule B (1); Guideline on the Investigation Levels for Soil and Groundwater. National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999. Canberra, ACT Australia: National Environment Protection Council.
60.
NormanMRossSMcEwenGGetliffJ (2002). Minimising environmental impacts and maximizing hole stability - the significance of drilling with synthetic fluids in New Zealand. New Zealand Petroleum Special Publications, Volume 2002 Conference (2002), pp. 141–152. Perth, WA: Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia.
61.
NoyesR (1998) Thermal desorption. In: NoyesR (ed.) Unit Operations in Environmental Engineering. New Jersey, USA: Noyes Publications, 377–380.
62.
OkpokwasiliGCNnubiaC (1995) Effects of oil spill dispersants and drilling fluids on substrate specificity of marine bacteria. Waste Management15: 515–520.
63.
OlsgardFGrayJS (1995) A comprehensive analysis of the effects of offshore oil and gas exploration and production on the benthic communities of the Norwegian continental shelf. Marine Ecology Progress Series122: 277–306.
64.
ØstgaardKJensenA (1985) Acute phytotoxicity of oil-based drilling muds. Oil and Petrochemical Pollution2: 281–291.
65.
OSPAR Commission (2001) Environmental aspects of on and off-site injection of drill cuttings and produced water, OSPAR Commission (2001). Available at: http://www.ospar.org (accessed 19 November 2009).
66.
OSPAR Commission (2003) Decision 2000/3 on the use of organic-phase drilling fluids (OPF) and the discharge of OPF-contaminated cuttings (2003). Available at: http://www.ospar.org (accessed 19 November 2009).
67.
OSPAR Commission (2008) OSPAR list of substances/preparations used and discharged offshore which are considered to pose little or no risk to the environment (PLONOR), (Reference number: 2004-10) (2008). Available at: http://www.ospar.org (accessed 19 November 2009).
68.
Commission OSPAR (2009) Assessment of Impacts of Offshore Oil and Gas Activities in the North-East Atlantic. Offshore Industry Series. London, UK: OSPAR Commission.
69.
OuyangWLiuHMuryginaVYuYXiuZKalyushnyiS (2005) Comparison of bio-augmentatin and composting for remediation of oily sludge: a field-scale study in China. Process Biochemistry40: 763–768.
70.
OwensCKRycroftDRStephensonMTNorrisGJohnsonJACrameLW. (1993) Exploration and Production (E&P) Waste Management Guidelines, Report No. 2.58/196, 43pp, London, UK: E&P Forum, September 1993. Available at: http://info.ogp.org.uk/Geophysical/reports/E5.pdf (accessed 24 November 2009).
71.
PatinS (1999) Ecotoxicological characteristics of related chemicals and wastes from the offshore oil industry. Environmental Impact of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry. East Northport, NY: EcoMonitor Publishers, 264.
72.
ReisJC (1996) Remediation of contaminated sites. Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing, 216–229.
73.
RHSA (2005) Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Australia: Issues for Discussion. Prepared by the Radiation Health & Safety Advisory Council (RHSA) for the CEO of ARPANSA, August2005, 36 pp. Available at: http://www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/norm/rhsac_disc.pdf (accessed 29 October 2009).
74.
RobinsonJPKingmanSWOnobrakpeyaO (2008) Microwave-assisted stripping of oil contaminated drill cuttings. Journal of Environmental Management88: 211–218.
75.
RobinsonJPKingmanSWSnapeCEBarrancoRShangHBradleyMSA. (2009) Remediation of oil-contaminated drill cuttings using continuous microwave heating. Chemical Engineering Journal152: 458–463.
76.
Rojas-AvelizapaNGRoldán-CarrilloTZegarra-MartínezHMuňoz-ColungaAMFernández-LinaresLC (2007) A field trial for an ex-situ bioremediation of a drilling mud-polluted site. Chemosphere66: 1595–1600.
77.
SadiqRHusainTVeitchBBoseN (2003) Marine water quality assessment of synthetic-based drilling waste discharges. International Journal of Environmental Studies60: 313–323.
78.
SaterbakAToyRJWongDCLMcMainBJWilliamsMPDornPB. (1999) Ecotoxicological and analytical assessment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils and application to ecotoxicological risk assessment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry18: 1591–1607.
79.
SchaanningMTTrannumHCØxnevadSCarrollJBakkeT (2008) Effects of drill cuttings on biogeochemical fluxes and macrobenthos of marine sediments. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology361: 49–57.
80.
SchaeferMFilserJ (2007) The influence of earthworms and organic additives on the biodegradation of oil contaminated soil. Applied Soil Ecology36: 53–62.
81.
ShafferGPHesterMWMillerSDesRochesDJSoutherRFChildersGWCampoFM (1998) Restored drill cuttings for wetlands: Results of a two year mesocosm approach to emulate field conditions under varying hydrologic regimes. Technical Report November 1998. Tulsa, Oklahoma: National Petroleum Technology Office, US DOE. Available at: http://www.osti.gov/bridge/servlets/purl/296878-AiyE0v/webviewable/296878.pdf9 (accessed 10 December 2009).
82.
ShangHSnapeCEKingmanSWRobinsonJP (2006) Microwave treatment of oil-contaminated North Sea drill cuttings in a high power multimode cavity. Separation and Purification Technology49: 84–90.
83.
SmithKPBluntDLWilliamsGPArnishJJPfingstonMHerbertJ. (1999) An Assessment of the Disposal of Petroleum Industry NORM in Nonhazardous Landfills. Prepared for US Department of Energy, National Petroleum Technology Office under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38 and American Petroleum Institute, September1999, 77 pp Available at: http://www.evs.anl.gov/pub/dsp_detail.cfm?PubID=1178 (accessed on 13 October 2009).
84.
StrooHF (1989) Biological treatment of petroleum sludges in liquid/solids reactors. Environmental Waste Management World3: 9–12.
85.
TrussellSSpenceRD (1994) A review of solidification/stabilisation interferences. Waste Management14: 507–519.
86.
US DOE (2003) Environmental Benefits of Advanced Oil and Gas Production Technology. Washington, DC: US Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, DOE-FE-0385. Available at: http://www.osti.gov/bridge/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=771125 (accessed 16 November 2009).
87.
US EPA (1900) Engineering Bulletin: Slurry Biodegradation, edn. EPA/540/2-90/016. Cincinnati, OH: Center for Environmental Research.
88.
US EPA (2000) Development Document for Final Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluids and other Non-Aqueous Drilling Fluids in the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category. EPA-821-B-00-013. From US EPA (2000) Available at: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/guide/sbf/final/eng.html) (accessed 16 November 2009).
89.
US EPA (2004) How to Evaluate Alternative Cleanup Technologies for Underground Storage Tank Sites. A Guide for Corrective Action Plan Reviewers, Chapter 5 Landfarming; US Environment Protection Agency Report EPA 510-R-04-002. Washington DC: US EPA’s Office Of Underground Storage Tanks.
90.
US GS (1999) Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Produced Water and Oil-Field Equipment—An Issue for the Energy Industry, Fact Sheet FS–142–99. US Department of the Interior – US Geological Survey, September 1999 Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0142-99/fs-0142-99.pdf). Denver, CO: US Department of the Interior – US Geological Survey (accessed on 30 November 2009).
91.
Van HammeJDSinghAWardOP (2003) Recent advances in petroleum microbiology. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews67: 503–549.
92.
VeilJA (2002) Drilling Waste Management: Past, Present, and Future, 77388-MS, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 29 September – 2 October 2002, San Antonio. Richardson, TX: Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
93.
VeilJADusseaultMB (2003) Evaluation of Slurry Injection Technology for Management of Drilling Wastes. Argonne National Laboratory. Prepared for US Department of Energy National Petroleum Technology Office under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38, May 2003. Tulsa, OK: US DOE National Petroleum Technology Office.
94.
VeilJASmithKPTomaskoDElcockDBluntDLWilliamsGP (1998). Disposal of NORM Contaminated Oil Field Wastes in Salt Caverns, Prepared for: US Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy National Petroleum Technology Office under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38, 1998, 67pp. Available at: http://www.ead.anl.gov/pub/doc/saltnorm.pdf (accessed 13 October 2009).
95.
VidaliM (2001) Bioremediation. An overview. Pure and Applied Chemistry731163–1172.
96.
VipulanandanCKrishnanS (1990) Solidification/stabilization of phenolic waste with cementitious and polymeric materials. Journal of Hazardous Materials24: 123–136.
97.
VisserSLeeBHallJKriegerD (2002). Bioremediation study of olefins, mineral oils, iso-paraffin fluids and diesel oils used for land-based drilling, SPE 73921. Presented at the SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20–22 March 2002. Available at: http://www.ineosoligomers.com/docs/bioremediation_olefins_mineral.pdf (accessed 28 November 2009).
98.
WardOPSinghAVan HammeJD (2003) Accelerated biodegradation of petroleum waste. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology30: 260–270.
99.
WoodP (2001) Remediation methods for contaminated. In: HesterREHarrisonRM (eds.) Sites Assessment and Reclamation of Contaminated Land. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry, 115–139.
100.
WojtanowiczAK (2008) Oilfield waste disposal control. In: OrszulikST (ed.) Environmental Technology in the Oil Industry. The Netherlands: Springer Verlag, 123–154.
101.
WolfeMFSchwartzGJBSingaramSMielbrechtEETjeerdemanRSSowbyML (2001) Influence of dispersants on the bioavailability and trophic transfer of petroleum hydrocarbons to larval topsmelt (Atherinops affinis). Aquatic Toxicology52: 49–60.
