CREATING VALUE

CASE HISTORY DWM 08 | 02

Arctic Pure Drilling Fluid Recycling Drill Cuttings into Drilling Fluids
Simon Wait and Asbjorn Dysvik

In 2006, Norsk Hydro was drilling in the Barents Sea, a highly sensitive zero discharge environment. Water-based drilling fluids was utilised in all hole sections and drill cuttings shipped to shore for disposal. In order to reduce the impact of shipping drill cuttings to shore, Scomi Oiltools, in consultation with Norsk Hydro, proposed to use the drill cuttings to produce a spud mud for wells where discharge of water-based drilling waste is allowed.
INTRODUCTION Scomi Oiltools successfully developed Arctic Pure spud mud from drill cuttings collected from a previously drilled Norsk Hydro Barents Sea well. The drilling fluid had to meet stringent requirements, given that all the drilling fluid additives had to be green as detailed in the PLONOR list of chemicals. Furthermore, the spud mud had to be stable for a minimum of 12 weeks after production to ensure that settling and bacterial degradation did not occur during transportation and storage at the new drilling location. PROCEDURE Water-based drill cuttings from the Barents Sea were slurrified on the rig in situ with fresh water and PLONOR green list chemicals added to formulate a spud mud stable to settling and bacterial growth. The slurry was reduced in particle size to less than 140 microns using a proprietary new grinding technique. The spud mud was stored for 12 weeks prior to being used and discharged in the Norwegian continental shelf.

THE PROJECT DETAILS Cuttings were collected and slurrified to formulate Arctic Pure spud mud during the first three months of 2007 on the Polar Pioneer. The Arctic Pure spud mud was stored for 12 weeks and then successfully run as a kill mud due to a shallow gas situation.

DRILLING WASTE MANAGEMENT

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS Planned Actual Performance Remarks

Health and Safety None Total Compliance

1. Lost time incidents and non-lost None time incidents Environmental

2. Arctic Pure made from 100% 100% Total Compliance green list PLONOR chemical only Operational New grinding technology 100% successful

Norsk Hydro advertising their success

3. Particles ground to <140 100% 100% microns 4. Spud mud must be stable for up to 12 weeks Spud mud stored for 12 weeks prior to use as a kill fluid

Stored for 100% 12 weeks successful with no stability or degredation issues

CONCLUSION Arctic Pure is a novel type of spud mud produced by recycling water-based drill cuttings; thus, reducing the impact of waste disposal. Scomi Oiltools developed Arctic Pure at its Global Research and Technology Centre (GRTC), in Kuala Lumpur, within a short timescale in order to meet the tight project deadline. Arctic Pure has been used to date to successfully kill a shallow gas situation and has been positively marketed by Norsk Hydro.

Despite the technical challenges of stabilising the fluid and avoiding bacterial degradation using only Green chemicals from the PLONOR list, the fluid was successfully stored over 12 weeks and utilised without any signs of degradation or major change in properties. The total operation was regarded as a great success and the preparation of Arctic Pure has now been used on a second occasion in 2007.

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