Environmental Evaluation Systems for Well Drilling and Completion Chemicals -The Present Situation and Future Views

Abstract

This paper describes how chemical hazard and risk assessment systems are being used in North Sea countries. Despite efforts to establish a harmonised chemical hazard and risk system, many countries have developed their own systems. For this reason, three major service companies have been working together to evaluate the CHARM III model (Chemical Hazard Assessment and Risk Management) and the accepted chemical hazard and risk assessment systems. Initially implemented by the Oslo Paris Commission (OSPAR), the European regulatory body for offshore environmental issues, CHARM III was a significant step towards developing a simple model that generated consistent hazard/risk evaluation results. During the harmonisation process, the North Sea countries also made attempts to develop a harmonised mandatory control system. Currently, four North Sea countries still rely on their own chemical evaluation systems. The three service companies have used the CHARM III model to perform chemical hazard evaluations on a representative range of cementing, completion, workover and spacer chemicals. The same chemicals were also evaluated with the different pre-screen systems used by the North Sea countries.