Oil waste

In the course of process, oil and gas industry inevitably generate oil wastes Oil wastes volume (indicative) – about 1 % of the oil production

Drilling

Drilling cutting, muds and fluids

Volume, mln. m3/year: 2
Oil content, %: 5
Oil volume, mln. m3/year: 0,1

Stimulation

Fluids after well interventions

Volume, mln. m3/year: 0,3
Oil content, %: 50
Oil volume, mln. m3/year: 0,16

Oil treatment

Oil sludge & stable emulsion

Volume, mln. m3/year: 0,4
Oil content, %: 50
Oil volume, mln. m3/year: 0,2

Transport

Oil contaminated soil & slop oil

Volume, mln. m3/year: –
Oil content, %: –
Oil volume, mln. m3/year: 4,5

Refinery

Oil sludge & stable emulsion

Volume, mln. m3/year: 0,3
Oil content, %: 20
Oil volume, mln. m3/year: 0,06

Oilfield sludge processing

In oilfield operations oily sludges are

  • produced as sediments in tanks and apparatus and
  • from oil spills (e.g. in the course of maintenance / repair work, or due to pipeline leaks).
  • collected in lagoons and withdrawn from there for processing

Emulsion processing

During crude oil production, there are several sources of mixing including:

  • Flow through reservoir rock
  • Bottomhole perforations/pump
  • Flow through tubing, flow lines and production headers
  • Valves, fittings, and chokes
  • Surface equipment
  • Gas bubbles released because of phase change

Available Technologies

Current technologies:

  • Incineration
  • Biological cleaning
  • Neutralization by chemicals
  • Pirolisys
  • Separation
  • Other

Utilization costs: > 1 bln. USD per year

Oil yields: < 50 %, since most of the technologies lead to irretrievable oil losses

Most effective technology: oil wastes separation by horizontal scroll centrifuges (tricanters or decanters)