HEALTH SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT IN

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY

JNTU
IV YEAR B.TECH PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
I-SEMISTER
UNIT-I
A Doraiah, M.Tech (Chem. Engg.)
Ex GM(P)/Surface Manager, ONGC
Mobile: 9490817598, E-mail: adabalad@yahoo.com
 HEALTH SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

UNIT-I
• Introduction to environmental control in the petroleum
industry: Overview of environmental issues- A new attitude.
• Drilling and production operations: Drilling- Production- Air
emissions.
 Introduction to environmental control in the
petroleum industry

 Exploration and production activities of petroleum industry

provides essential petroleum products.
 The activities of finding and producing petroleum can impact the
environment and the greatest impact arises from the release of
wastes into the environment in concentrations beyond nature
accepts.
 The wastes include solids contaminated with HCs, water
contaminated with a variety of dissolved solids (DS), suspended
solids (SS) and variety of chemicals.
 These wastes have significant adverse effects on environment,
however, some have little impact, and others are actually
beneficial.
 In virtually, the adverse impact can be minimized or
eliminated through the implementation of proper
waste management.
 Proactive approach to managing operations and
become educated about those, potentially harm the
environment.
 Proactive approach involves adopting an attitude of
environmental responsibility; to protect the
environment while doing the business.
 Overview of environmental issues

These issues concern operations that

• generate wastes,
• their potential influence on the environment,
• mechanisms and pathways for waste migration,
• effective ways to manage wastes,
• treatment methods,
• remediation methods for contaminated sites, and
• regulations.
Sources of wastes:

These wastes fall into

1. produced water (98%)
2. drilling fluids+ cuttings (2%)
3. other associated wastes (negligible)
1. Produced water
 Produced water contains impurities which can
adversely impact the environment. These impurities
include DS(salts, heavy metals),SS (organic
materials), formation solids, H2S, CO2, low level
naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM).
 Additives like coagulants, corrosion inhibitors,
emulsion breakers, biocides, dispersants, paraffin
control agents, and scale inhibitors are often added
to alter the chemistry of the produced water.
 Water produced from EOR projects may also
contain acids, oxygen scavengers, surfactants,
friction reducers, scale dissolvers.
 2. Drilling Fluids and Cuttings:
 Drilling wastes include formation cuttings & drilling fluids.
 Water based drilling fluids contain viscosity control agents (clays
like bentonite), density control agents (barium sulfate or barite),
deflocculants (lignite), caustic (NaOH), corrosion inhibitors,
biocides, lubricants, lost circulation materials, formation
compatibility agents.
 The most commonly used base HC in Oil-based drilling fluids is
diesel & synthetic oils. Drilling fluids contain heavy metals like
barium, chromium, cadmium, mercury, lead.
 Associated wastes include the sludges and solids that collect in
surface equipment and tank bottoms, pit wastes, water softener
wastes, scrubber wastes, stimulation wastes, wastes from
dehydration & sweetening of natural gas, transportation wastes,
contaminated soil.
 3. Other Associated Wastes:
 Another waste stream is air emissions. These arise
from internal combustion engines (ICE), used to power
drilling rigs, pumps, compressors, boilers, steam
generators, natural gas dehydrators, separators.
 Large scale HC contamination of the sea (3.2 metric
tons/y r) Table 1.1
 Oil production from offshore platforms contribute less
than 2% of the total amount of oil entering into sea.
Environmental Impact of Wastes:
 Toxicity to exposed organisms: Its concentration in water that
results in the death of half of the exposed organisms within a
given length of time. Exposure times for toxicity tests are 96 hrs.
 The conc that is lethal to half the exposed, the test is called LC50
(high values). Sub-lethal effects, the test is called EC50. Another
measure of toxicity is the no observable effect concentration
(NOEC).
 The toxicity of aromatic HCs (BTXEb,10 ppm) is relatively high
while paraffins is low. HCs less than 1 ppm in water have a sub-
lethal. High mol wt paraffins are nontoxic.
 Chronic exposures of entire ecosystems to HCs, either from
natural seeps or from petroleum facilities have shown no long-
term impact, have all recovered when the source of HCs removed.
 Stunted plant growth if HC conc in soil is above 1% (wt), lower
conc enhance plant growth.
 Toxicities (LC50) of water based muds, containing small % of
HCs can be a few thousand ppm where as LC 50s of polymer
muds can exceed one million, cause death to many organism.
 The toxicity of heavy metals stops normal biochemical
processes in cells. General effects include damage to the lever,
kidney, reproductive, blood forming or nervous systems.
 Heavy metal concentration allowed in drinking water below
0.01 mg/l
 The primary environmental consequences of air pollutants are
respiratory difficulties in humans and animals, damage to
vegetation and solid acidification. Release of H 2S can be fatal
to those exposed.
Waste Migration:
o The environmental impact of released wastes would be
minimal if the wastes stayed at the point of release;
o Most wastes migrate to affect a wider area through
groundwater along the local hydraulic gradient.
o For release at sea, waste will follow the winds and
currents.
o For air emissions, the pollutants will follow the winds.
Because migration spreads the wastes over a wider area,
the concentration can be reduced by dilution.
Managing Wastes:
• To minimize environmental impact from drilling and
production activities, an effective waste management plan is
to be developed and implemented. Identify the wastes and
list the best way to manage, treat, dispose of them.
• An environmental audit to determine whether existing
activities are in compliance with relevant regulations.
• Effective method of process to minimize the waste to be
selected.
• Reuse or recycle and recover voluble components or use of
wastes for useful purposes through innovations.
• When properly managed, the risks and hazards of drilling
and production operations can be reduced to low levels.
Waste Treatment Methods:
 The waste treatment method selected, however, must comply
with all regulations, regardless of their cost.
 Segregate the wastes into their constituents, e.g., solid, aqueous,
HC wastes.
 Shale shakers, separation tanks, heater treaters, hydrocyclones,
filter presses, gas flotation systems or decanting centrifuges can
be used on need basis.
 An emerging technology for HC removal from contaminated
solids is bioremediation. Other treatment methods include
distillation, incineration, solvent extraction, critical/supercritical
fluid extraction.
 Non-HC aqueous wastes: Ion exchange, precipitation, reverse
osmosis, evaporation, biological processes, neutralization &
solidification (to remove DS from water).
Waste Disposal Methods:
• The disposal methods depend on composition &
regulatory status of the waste.
• Injection of produced water into injection wells of
water flooding or EOR projects after treatment
subject to state regulations.
• The primary disposal methods for solid wastes are to
burry them or to spread them over the land surface.
• Bioremediation is promising method to disposal of oil
contaminated soil which will convert into more fertile
soil within 4 to 5 months.
Environmental Regulations:
 The need to minimize environmental impact, the
number of regulations governing in drilling and
production activities have been increased.
 Most of these regulations impose economic fines and
possibly criminal penalties for violations. This
increased the cost of industry operations.
 Environmental Acts in India
• Environment protection Act 1986
• Environmental Protection Rules,1986
• Environmental Impact Assessment Notification-2006
• Notification on Drill Cuttings and Drilling fluid, 2005
• The water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974
• Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Rules, 1975
• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Act 1981
• The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1982
• The water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act 1977.
• The water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Rules, 1978
• Manufacture storage and import of hazardous Chemicals Rules 1989
• Manufacture storage and import of hazardous chemicals rules (amended
2000)
• Hazardous Waste ( Management, Handling & Transboundary Movement)
Rules, 2008
 Health & Environment
• Bio-medical waste (M & H) Rules, 1998
• Bio-medical waste (M&H) Rules (amended 2003)
• Battery (Management & Handling) Rules 2001
• Emission regulations DG Sets; Stack height
• The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000
• Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation & Control) Rules,
2000
• Biological Diversity Act, 2002
A NEW ATTITUDE
• Environmental harm is there during E&P operations.
There must be balance between human activities and
benefits of those activities. Effective technical options
are available to minimize the risks but options are
expensive.
• All companies including oil companies exist by the grace
and will of the people in society. Through legislation,
litigation, or economic boycotts these companies can be
closed down if the people do not wish, not necessarily
based on accurate scientific information.
• This may be due to lack on understanding scientific
environmental principles.
• The transportation of imported crude oil creates a much
greater hazard than domestic production.
• Mutual education between regulators, the petroleum
industry and the public at all levels is an important
step. Environmentally responsible cost-effective
operations are to be developed and implemented.
• This partnership requires cooperation, team work,
commitment, credibility and trust among all parties
involved in E&P COs
• The related activities must be oriented toward
improved environmental awareness and protection,
not the avoidance of responsibility for environmental
protection.
• Environmental awareness must be an integral part of
everyone’s daily job.
• API , member companies has developed some guiding
principles.
DRILLING AND PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

Drilling and production operations generate a

significant volume of waste for which industry has
developed many technical and scientific methods to
minimize or eliminate the environmental impacts as
on today.
DRILLING: Overview of Drilling Process:

 Generate a variety of wastes called, drilling cuttings,

drilling fluids and its associated additives. Drilling fluids
mostly reused which reduces the wastes.
 The base fluid is water, followed by oil, air, NG, and foam.
(water based, 85% or oil based fluid). Reserve mud also
kept ready to meet mud loss.
 Pits are also used to store water, waste fluids, cuttings, rig
wash etc.
 Air emissions are from the ICEs used to power the drilling
rigs. Many transport fleet move during rig shifting which
also emit so much gases from vehicles.
Drilling fluids:
 The primary purpose of drilling fluid is to remove the
cuttings, additives to increase the viscosity or density
of the fluids on need basis.
 Additives to increase the lubricity of the fluid are
commonly used.
 Many new additives have been formulated to lower
the toxicity or environment friendly fluids which
reduces the impact damage.
A typical elemental composition of common constituents
of water based drilling muds is given in table 2.1.
o Hydratable clays mostly bentonite (3 to 7%) used to
increase viscosity;
o Lignites, lignosulfonates, used as deflocculants at high
temps (for easy pumping)
o Barite (BaSO4) has high sp gr of 4.2 used for density control
of drilling fluids.
o Cane fibers, groundnut shells, cottonseed hulls, saw dust:
for lost circulation;
o pH control (9.5-10.5), lubricants, Corrosion inhibitors,
Biocides, formation damage (FD) control.
Oil based Drilling Fluids:
o These fluids are used for high-temp wells; wells containing water
sensitive minerals; wells containing reactive gases like CO2, H2S.
o Oil based muds are generally more expensive and greater potential
for adverse environmental impact. But more benefits are there,
faster drilling, reuse of muds after reconditioning, which in turn
lowers the damage effect.
o The unwanted components like heavy metals, salt & HCs also harm.
o The potential impact of drill cuttings can be significantly reduced by
separating the solid cuttings from the more toxic mud.
o Preparation of drilling and production sites can cause local impact
on the environment, like erosion, soil compaction, sterilization.
Heavy equipment can compact the soil. If the well is abandoned,
restoration of land is also problem.
 Production
 The largest waste stream is produced water, with its
associated constituents.
 In GGS produced water gets separated along with traces of
oil. Emulsion oils need to be treated with demulsifiers.
Some more chemicals are to be added to treat this
produced water before disposal.
 Some solid sediments also accumulates in separators,
heater treaters, oil storage tanks which need to be treated,
dried before disposal as per regulations. Oil soaked soils or
the well site pits are also to be treated.
 Advanced water treatment methods are available to lower
the HC levels.
 The current US Environmental Protection agency limits for
the discharge of HCs in water for the best available
technology are 29 mg/l on a monthly average and 42 mg/l
for a daily max. (oil/grease must be less than 10 ppm in the
treated water in India)
 Produced water is invariably oxygen depleted. If
discharged oxygen depleted water can impact fauna
requiring dissolved oxygen for respiration.
 Produced water can be highly corrosive to production
equipment because of dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide gases.
 Scale inhibitors, biocides, coagulants, foam breakers,
surfactants etc. regularly used in the various processes of
production.
Well stimulation services:
 Well activation jobs like air compression, oil displacement,
nitrogen displacement, foam displacement, nitrified foam
are being used.
 Well stimulation jobs, like acidization, hydro-fracturing are
required to be carried to improve the permeability.
 The above operations may be taken directly or through
CTU (rigless operations)
 In due course of production the wells cease due to many
wellbore problems. Some times wells are required to be
cleaned, unloading of water etc.
 Some times workover rigs are to be deployed to repair the
subsurface equipment or related works for improving of
the well productivity.
 In these jobs organic/inorganic acids like hydrochloric,
formic, acetic, hydrofluoric acids and many additives are
also required to be added . The spent acid is to be washed
back to the surface. Acids are highly corrosive.
 Wettability agents can also add to change the wettability
after the job.
 Various types of chemicals used in the activation/
stimulation jobs will come back someway through
oils/waters which in turn impact the environment.
 The natural gas contains many impurities like water vapor,
CO2, H2S, CO which are required to be removed through
specific processes.
 Waste waters from cooling towers, water softening wastes,
contaminated sediments, scrubber wastes, used filter
media, lubricants are other wastes.
Radioactive Materials:
Many drilling sites and production facilities have
radioactive materials associated with them. Primarily
radioactive tracers or logging tools are deliberately
brought to the site for use while other materials are
naturally occurring and are called naturally occurring
radioactive materials (NORM).
AIR EMISSIONS:
 A wide variety of air pollutants are generated and emitted
during the drilling & production operations. These include
oxides of nitrogen (NOX), volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
oxides of sulfur (SOX) and partially burned HCs (CO, etc.).
 Halon gases are used at many drilling and production sites
for fire suppression. These gases have been identified as an
ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC).
 The largest source of air pollution is the ICE used to power
drilling & production activities like rigs, compressors, pumps
with NG or diesel fuel. 3.5 lbs of NO X can be generated for
each bbl of fuel burned.
 About 25 lbs of formaldehyde & 1.5 lbs of benzene can
be generated per MMCF of fuel burned. Fuels benzene,
ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene (BETX), about 3% of those
compounds will pass through the engine and be emitted
 Another major source of pollutants is from HT, boilers,
steam generators. They also emit NOX & partially burned
HCs like CO.
 Production operations that can cause emissions include
the use of fixed roof tanks, waste water tanks, loading
racks, flue gases from thermal recovery process.
 Three major sources of volatile HC emissions from
these tanks: breathing losses, working losses &
flashing losses due to temp, pr, level changes in the
tanks. Open tanks, sumps, pits can be sources of
volatile emissions, depend on ambient temp.
 Transfer of oil from tanks to trucks also another
source of volatile emissions.
 Flue gases like CO2, N2, CO, SO2 also produce during
thermal recovery methods.
Fugitive Emissions:
 These fugitive emissions are HCs that escape from
production systems through leaking components like
valves, flanges, pumps, compressors, connections,
hatches, site glasses, dump level arms, packing seals,
fittings and instrumentation
 Improper fitting, wear & tear, corrosion may be the
reason for leakages.
 A breakdown of how often each type of component
leaked is given in Tab 2.11.
 Generic fugitive emission rates for well production
facilities are given in Tab 2.12.
Emissions from Site Remediation:
 Another source of air pollution is from the cleanup of
petroleum contaminated sites.
 Many cleanup practices for HCs spilled on result in
volatile HCs being emitted into the air and transported
from the spill site.
 The most common HC spilled that causes air pollution is
gasoline.
 To estimate the pollutant levels associated with 3 types:
soil extraction, vacuum extraction, and air stripping.