Environmental Impacts of Treating Top Hole Cuttings with Coral Bond Walls

PetGospel C Okoro; Emenike N Wami; Kennet K Dagbe; Emmanuel O Ehirim

doi:10.56201/ijgem.vol.11.no6.2025.pg146.160

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Environmental Impacts of Treating Top Hole Cuttings with Coral Bond Walls

PetGospel C Okoro, Emenike N Wami, Kennet K Dagbe, Emmanuel O Ehirim

Abstract

Effective treatment options of top hole cuttings with respect to its inherent hazardous parameters such as oil & gas and salinity have become an indelible treatment challenge to the oil and gas industry. Top hole cuttings are drilling wastes generated from drilling of shallow oil and gas wells which apparently contains lower percentages of oil & grease content including lower concentra- tion of salinity in comparison with synthetic oil based drill cuttings and in view of ensuring effec- tive protection of the ecosystem, approved regulatory minimum and maximum environmental dis- posable values were recommended by the regulators at 5pp and 10ppm respectively for oil & gas while the approved environmental disposable values for salinity were recommended at 600ppm minimum value and 2,000ppm maximum value. However, the oil & gas industry over the years have explored several treatment options for the treatment of top hole cuttings in compliance with approved regulatory environmental disposable values therefore prompting Shell Petroleum De- veloping Company opting for the use of coral bond walls for the treatment of top hole cuttings. The Shell Petroleum Development Company choice of treatment option for top hole cuttings was observed to have coagulatory effect on the environment prompting extensive research investiga- tions on the level of compliance with respect to approved recommended environmental disposable values. Four different sites of the company were therefore selected for the research work including Etelebou 1, Afam 6. Gbaran 2 and Asa North 2 with corresponding laboratory values of 298ppm, 423ppm, 386ppm and 305ppm respectively for oil & grease content while the values recorded for salinity included 5,620ppm for Asa North 2 coral bond wall, 16,840ppm for Afam 6 coral bond wall, 3,256ppm was recorded for Etelebou 1 coral bond wall, while Gbaran 2 coral bond wall was observed with laboratory salinity concentration value of 15,812

References

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Environmental Impacts of Treating Top Hole Cuttings with Coral Bond Walls

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