Regulatory Challenges of Drill Cuttings Waste Management in Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract The oil & gas industry has taken substantive steps toward reducing its environmental footprint from drilling activities. The implementation of a drill cuttings waste management strategy in the Mahakam Delta, East Kalimantan, Indonesia includes the use of thermal desorption technology. Oily drill cuttings are collected and treated using thermal desorption unit resulting an efficient, recovery and reuse of base oil and reducing the oil on the treated cuttings from 20 wt% to an average of 0.3 wt%. The solid treated cuttings have potential to be reused as a raw material for civil construction such as road base or backfill material. However, Indonesian hazardous waste regulation enlists drill muds and cuttings as a specific source of hazardous waste. Subsequent to treatment, the treated cuttings are still considered as hazardous even though laboratory analysis demonstrates that the chemical concentrations do not exceed those used to identify materials with hazardous characteristics. The company generates approximately 65 000 tons of treated cuttings annually. The hazardous waste regulations require that the oil & gas industry dispose of this material in an appropriate manner. Therefore the post treated, inert material, that is in compliance with drilling waste management regulation, is disposed in a non-sensitive offshore location. The company is searching for ways to convince the authorities of the benefit of reusing treated cuttings for alternative uses including road base and backfill material.