Management of Drilling Waste in an Environmental and Economic Acceptable Manner

In upstream petroleum industry, one of the major operations that can potentially impact the environment is drilling. A major component of the wastes generated during drilling are the rock cuttings and the drilling fluids. The drilling fluids can have different chemical composition and various additives. Spilled or improperly disposed drilling wastes have the potential to harm plants and animals, and it should be managed to minimize risk to human health and the environment. The increasing environmental legislation surrounding drilling operations has led to a rapid rise in drilling waste management spending by operators. Managing wastes to minimize their harm potential to health and environment is the international concern and requires efficient management of wastes to reduce the environmental impacts. The management and control of waste which develops from the strategy can also have the beneficial effect of reducing the number of health related issues.This paper presents the waste management including recognizing the waste sources and methods which are used to minimize the impaction to environment and human health from drilling waste. This paper also reviews the strategy of drilling waste management which could reduce the number of health related issues as well as environment pollution.