Options, Methods, and Costs for Offsite Commercial Disposal of Exploration and Production Wastes

Abstract

In the United States, most exploration and production (E&P) wastes generated at onshore oil and gas wells--contaminated soils, naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), oil-based muds and cuttings, produced water, tank bottoms, and water-based muds and cuttings--are disposed of or otherwise managed at the well site. Some of these E&P wastes, however, are not suitable for onsite management, and some well locations in sensitive environments cannot be used for onsite management. In these situations, operators must find offsite waste-disposal solutions. Responding to this need, offsite commercial disposal facilities are businesses that charge a fee for accepting and managing E&P wastes generated by others. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), the authors of this paper assembled a unique set of data covering options, methods, and costs for offsite disposal of E&P wastes in the United States (Puder and Veil 2006a). Data were collected for more than 200 disposal facilities. This paper describes the project and the findings, which were published in September 2006.