Rosneft: Patents an Eco-Project for the Disposal of Drill Cuttings
Rosneft received a patent for the invention of a green technology for processing drill cuttings at the Vostok Oil project. The rationalization project for the processing of drilling waste into a highly environmentally friendly building material has already brought the company more than 2 billion rubles of economic benefit. More than 212 thousand tons (139 thousand cubic meters) of drill cuttings have already been utilized at the Vankorskoye, Suzunskoye and Tagulskoye fields.
As part of the Rosneft-2022 strategy, the subsidiaries of the Company pay special attention to environmental protection in the course of production activities. The use of “green” technologies is at the heart of the development of fields in the new northern project “Vostok Oil”. At the moment, the company has begun work on obtaining two more patents.
The technology is based on the principle of waste-free production, organized directly at the well pad. Sludge from well drilling is mixed with cement, lime, gypsum and sand. This composition makes the resulting soil safe for the environment. Calcium, supplied as a result of adding lime, improves the physical properties of the soil, strengthening its structure, and has a positive effect on the activity of microflora, increasing the content of organic matter in the soil, increases the productivity and resistance of plants to any external factors.
The innovative product is used at the Vostok Oil fields during the filling of roads, the construction of sites for new production complexes, as well as in the process of reclamation. Recycled soil can also be used as a substitute for natural soil and other recultivation materials.
The safety of the production process and the compliance of the soil with all the necessary requirements was confirmed by the State Ecological Expertise. The license obtained as a result of inspections by Rosprirodnadzor allows oil companies to expand the possibilities of using their own technology for the disposal of drill cuttings for another fourteen newly licensed facilities located on the territory of the Vankorskoye, Tagulskoye, Suzunskoye and Lodochnoye fields.
