Environment Report 2017

4.2 Discharged Drill Cuttings Figure 23 shows the distribution of drill cuttings discharged to the sea across UKCS operators in 2016. The amount discharged depends on the number and length of wells a given operator has drilled over the year, and therefore the volume increases during intensive drilling campaigns. On average, 370 tonnes of drill cuttings per well were discharged to sea in 2016, greater than the 270 tonnes in 2015. Operators AA to AD carried out extensive drilling campaigns. Six of the 30 operators discharged oil-based fluid cuttings, all of which underwent processing and cleaning on-board to bring the oil content to below 1 per cent of total cuttings mass. The continued trend of increased oil-based fluid cuttings being treated and discharged to sea means fewer cuttings are being shipped to shore for further processing and landfill.

1

2

3

4

Figure 23: Cuttings Discharged to Sea per Operator, 2016

8,000

Water-Based Cuttings Oil Based-Cuttings

5

7,000

6,000

6

)sennoT( sgnittuC degrahcsiD

5,000

4,000

7

3,000

8

2,000

1,000

9

0

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z AA AB AC AD

Source: EEMS July 2017

10

11

39