A Survey of Offshore Oilfield Drilling Wastes and Disposal Techniques to Reduce the Ecological Impact of Sea Dumping

by Jonathan Wills, M.A., Ph.D., M.Inst.Pet., for Ekologicheskaya Vahkta Sakhalina (Sakhalin Environment Watch); 25th May 2000

1. "A Core Value"
   Author biography
   Acknowledgements
   List of Abbreviations
   
   
2. Summary of Conclusions

   Zero-discharges - a Personal View

3. Drilling Waste Streams from Offshore Oil and Gas Installations

   The Public Domain Problem
   Terminology and the Obfuscating Euphemism

4. The Law on Offshore Wastes Discharges in Different Jurisdictions

   The OSPAR Convention
   United Kingdom
   Norway
   Canada
   United States
   
   Inviting Regulation

5. Environmental Effects of Drilling Waste Discharges

   The SBM Controversy
   "Non-Water Quality Environmental Impacts"
   Additives
   Drill Cuttings
   Produced Water

6. Minimising Waste Discharges and Their Effects

   Re-injection Offshore
   Cleaning Up Produced Water Streams
   
   Summary List of Main Sources

7. Selected References
   
   
8. Appendices

   Appendix 1. Total number of offshore installations in the OSPAR Convention's maritime area, 1984-1998
   
   2. Use of water-based and alternative drilling fluids in 1998 (OSPAR countries)
   
   3. Total number of wells drilled, number of wells drilled with oil-based muds (OBM) and number of wells drilled with water-based muds (WBM), 1993 / 1996 / 1998
   
   4. Total discharges of oil from offshore installations to the OSPAR Convention's maritime area, 1981-1998 (tonnes)
   
   5. Oil discharges as proportions from each source, OSPAR area, 1981-1998
   
   6. Discharges per "source" and per country (expressed as a percentage of each country's total discharges), 1998
   
   7. Quantities of oil discharged via cuttings (in tonnes), 1984-1998
   
   8. Oil discharged in displacement and production water (in tonnes), 1982-1998
   
   9. Number of installations with discharges exceeding the 40 mg oil/l target standard, 1981-1998
   
   10. Number of installations exceeding the 40 mg oil/l target standard - by Contracting Party, 1995-1998
   
   11. OSPAR List of Substances/Compounds Liable to Cause Taint
   
   12. OSPAR List of Substances / Preparations Used and Discharged Offshore which Are Considered to Pose Little or No Risk to the Environment (PLONOR)
   
   13. OSPAR Guidelines for Completing the Harmonised Offshore Chemical Notification Format (HOCNF), as proposed by SEBA, 2000.

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"A Core Value"
Author biography
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

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