Abstract
Oil and gas exploration and production activities generate large amounts of waste material, especially during well drilling and completion activities. Waste material from drilling activities to the greatest extent consists of drilled cuttings and used drilling mud with a smaller portion of other materials (wastewater, produced hydrocarbons during well testing, spent stimulation fluid, etc.). Nowadays, growing concerns for environmental protections and new strict regulations encourage companies to improve methods for the reduction of waste material, as well as improve existing and develop new waste disposal methods that are more environmentally friendly and safer from the aspect of human health. The main advantages of the waste injection method into suitable deep geological formations over other waste disposal methods (biodegradation, thermal treatment, etc.) are minimizing potentially harmful impacts on groundwater, reducing the required surface area for waste disposal, reducing the negative impact on the air and long-term risks for the entire environment. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the underground waste injection technology, criteria for the selection of the injection zone and methods required for process monitoring, as well as a comprehensive literature overview of significant past or ongoing projects from all over the world.
Highlights
Oil and gas industry through exploration and production (E&P) activities generate large amounts of different waste through several different processes, including wellbore drilling, well completion and workover, reservoir stimulation and hydrocarbons production, as well as transporting and storage of hydrocarbons and associated products
Probably the largest amounts of waste during oil and gas E&P activities are generated during the development of unconventional reservoirs, because large amounts of water are required for reservoir stimulation through the massive fracturing of reservoir rock
Deep underground waste injections (cutting reinjection (CRI) or downhole waste injection (DWI)) are still the most economic methods for the disposal of waste generated through exploration and production activities in comparison with other available waste disposal methods [26,27]
Summary
Oil and gas industry through exploration and production (E&P) activities generate large amounts of different waste through several different processes, including wellbore drilling, well completion and workover, reservoir stimulation (fracturing and acidizing) and hydrocarbons production, as well as transporting and storage of hydrocarbons and associated products (carbon dioxide, produced/wastewater, etc.). Drilling activities on their own generate the second largest amount of waste, following reservoir water produced during oil and gas production [1–4]. Oil and gas companies generate smaller quantities of waste during drilling activities for the same drilled volume of the rock in comparison to the past because of the implementation of the smart waste management strategy during the field development planning phase
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