Radiation-chemical Characteristics of Drilling Cuttings in Western Siberia and Modernization of the Drilling Waste Management System

Abstract

The urgent character of modernization of the drilling waste management technologies from the standpoint of improving the environmental safety of territories during the oil and gas field development and operation was substantiated. The analysis of the existing drilling waste management methods was conducted and the classification of drilling waste ponds was presented. A layer-by-layer radiation-chemical analysis of drilling cuttings formed at the cluster drilling well in the Western Siberia (on the example of the Kustovoy field of "LUKOIL-Western Siberia", LLC) was conducted. A method for handling drilling waste, which is realized through the dosage batching of domestic-made reagents into a device for drill cuttings unloading from a drilling rig. The minimization of the secondary contamination threat is ensured by a more thorough mixing of the reagents with the waste, an increase in the contact time and the reaction completeness. The technology presented in the project allows preventing the formation of drilling waste, increasing the utilization depth and improving the technical requirements for the quality of the materials obtained.