Deep Underground Injection of Waste from Drilling Activities—An Overview

Gaurina-Međimurec, Nediljka; Pašić, Borivoje; Mijić, Petar; Medveď, Igor

doi:10.3390/min10040303

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…SFI has been in use since at least 1989 [15], and has been used to dispose of a number of geogenic slurries including drilling fluids, drilling cuttings, naturally occurring radioactive materials, and contaminated soils [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. In most of these cases, SFI occurs over a relatively short period because it is used to dispose of drilling wastes which are only generated during field development.…”

Section: Slurry Fracture Injectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass slurry fracture injection as a potential low-cost negative emissions technology

Snyder

2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Negative emissions technologies (NETs) are systems which remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and sequester it in permanent storage and they are required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, all NETs are limited by biological, physical and economic factors. Here, we model the life cycle emissions, geospatial potential, technoeconomic feasibility of a new negative emissions technology based on slurry fracture injection, a technique which has been used for decades in the oil and gas industry to dispose of wastes. In the proposed system, called biomass slurry fracture injection (BSFI), biogeneic wastes are injected into fractures created in permeable saline formations. We calculate that the costs of BSFI are generally lower than $95 tonne-1 of CO2 removed, even at biomass prices above $75 dry tonne-1. We conduct a geospatial feasibility analysis of the continental U.S. and conclude that adequate biomass, geological storage and wastewater is available to sequester 80 Mt CO2e yr-1. We use global estimates of potential biomass availability to conclude that a mature industry might sequester on the order of 5 Gt CO2e yr-1, over 10% of contemporary CO2 emissions.availability to conclude that a mature industry might sequester on the order of 5 Gt CO2e yr-1, over 10% of contemporary CO2 emissions.

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Section: Slurry Fracture Injectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass slurry fracture injection as a potential low-cost negative emissions technology

Snyder

2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…These areas are expected to account for most of Alberta's industrial activity for the production of higher-value light crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids over the next decade [52]. The availability of ample low-cost nearby subsurface pore space for the disposal of the large quantities of produced waste fluids (flowback) is vital for the commercial feasibility of hydraulic fracturing technology currently used to extract natural gas and condensates from shale formations [55,56].…”

Section: Subdivision Of the Alberta Basin Into Distinct Geology/industrial Activity Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of the Net Fluid Balance in the Alberta Basin

et al. 2022

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Net fluid balance in the Alberta Basin has been negative over the last 60 years because extensive fluid production has consistently exceeded injection during this period. However, future gigaton-scale carbon sequestration, among other activities, can result in future cumulative fluid injection exceeding extraction (i.e., a positive net fluid balance). The in-situ net fluid balance (i.e., total fluids produced minus total fluids injected) in this basin over the period 1960–2020 shows that a liquids deficit of 4.53x109 m3 and a gas deficit of 6.05x1012 m3 currently exist. However, fluid deficits are more significant in the upper stratigraphic intervals (located more than 1 km above the Precambrian Basement) than in the stratigraphic intervals located within 1 km of the Precambrian Basement in most geographic regions. This observation indicates that greater sustainable injection capacity for large-scale fluid injection may exist in the upper stratigraphic intervals (located at more than 1 km above the Precambrian Basement), reducing the potential for generating induced seismicity of concern. Additionally, while fluid depletion rates consistently increased over most of the last 60 years in the Alberta Basin, this trend appears to have changed over the past few years. Such analysis of regional net fluid balance and trends may be useful in assessing regional sustainable fluid storage capacity and managing induced seismicity hazards.

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“…If everything is done correctly for reinjection and suitable underground horizon was found, this method provides complete isolation of waste from underground water and ensures the prevention of pollutant migration [43][44].…”

Section: Impact Categorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A life cycle assessment of drilling waste management in Russia

Ilinykh

Fellner

Sliusar

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Oil production is currently impossible without drilling wells, so millions of tons of drilling waste contaminated with oil, chlorides, and heavy metals are generated every year in Russia alone. This article presents the results of a comparative life cycle assessment of water-based drill cuttings management technologies applied in Russia, including disposal, solidification, and reinjection. Life cycle assessment of the drilling waste management was performed using OpenLCA software, Ecoinvent 3.8 database and ReCiPe Midpoint (H) impact assessment method. Data from oil producing companies on the composition of drilling waste and information from drilling waste treatment companies on the technologies and reagents used were also applied. To compare alternative technologies the following scenarios were compared: Scenario 0 «Landspreading», scenario 1 «Disposal», scenario 2 «Solidification» (scenario 2a – in a waste pit, scenario 2b – without a waste pit), and scenario 3 «Reinjection». Sensitivity analysis was performed to test for variations in results for oilfields located in different regions. Results and discussion: The environmental impact of scenario 0 depends mostly on drilling waste composition, which is largely determined by human toxicity. In scenario 1, sand extraction and transportation, excavator and bulldozer operations were the most impactful processes. Among all scenarios, 2a and 2b have the biggest environmental impact in most categories. The production of cement and lime for drilling waste solidification was the main contributor to fossil depletion (64% of the total amount for scenario 2a and 54% for scenario 2b), and greenhouse gas emissions (49% of the total amount for scenario 2a and 70% for scenario 2b). The main contributor in scenario 3 is electricity production. Oilfield location does not affect the data for reinjection, but the impact assessment changes up to 60% for drill cutting disposal due to different waste pit design depending on permafrost and groundwater levels. Drilling waste landspreading is only the best option if the level of pollutants in the waste is very low. Among the other scenarios of drill cuttings management aimed at isolating pollutants from the environment, solidification technologies have the greatest environmental impact, primarily due to their use of binders. However, the application of soil-like material (solidified drill cuttings) as an inert ground in swampy areas can make migration of heavy metals possible. So, reinjection is associated with the least impact on the environment.

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Deep Underground Injection of Waste from Drilling Activities—An Overview

Cited by 16 publications

References 88 publications

Biomass slurry fracture injection as a potential low-cost negative emissions technology

Biomass slurry fracture injection as a potential low-cost negative emissions technology

An Assessment of the Net Fluid Balance in the Alberta Basin

A life cycle assessment of drilling waste management in Russia

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