It is estimated that the UKCS produces between 50,000 to80,000 tonnes wet weight of oily drill cuttings annually. Withthe implementation of OSPAR Decision 92, and given currentoffshore technology, it is no longer possible to dischargecleaned oily cuttings to sea. Increasingly stringent legislationalso makes it likely that cuttings derived using water-basedmuds will not be discharged to sea in the future.Although several commercially available treatment processescan remove oil from oil based mud (OBM) cuttings, there arefew satisfactory outlets for the residual solid material most ofwhich currently goes to landfill. In light of the legislativechanges, increased focus on duty of care, and commercialconsiderations, viable alternatives are being sought for therecycling and reuse of large volumes of material from futuredrilling programs.This paper examines possible options for converting drillcuttings into reusable secondary products and discusses theadvantages and disadvantages of each option when consideredagainst the criteria of environmental impact, technical risk,logistics, liability and cost. Examples of the research andpilot trials currently being undertaken to assess the feasibilityof these options is discussed, as well as work being carried outto establish the variation in chemical composition of cuttingsin the UKCS, since tolerance to the variation in the chemicalcharacteristics of drill cuttings is a major issue for most of theend uses.
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