Effect of Drilling Cutting Discharge on Marine Environment and Benthic Foraminifera

Subject Areas : Water and Environment

Reza Fouladi Fard ¹

1 - PhDstudent of civil and Environmental Eng., environmental Expert, North Drilling Company

Received: 2013-05-01 Accepted : 2013-08-30 Published : 2013-09-23

Keywords: drilling mud, drilling cutting, Barium, hydrocarbons, environmental effect,

Abstract :

Offshore oil and gas drilling operation activity can release many chemical components toenvironment. Water based muds (WBMs), oil based muds(OBMs) and synthetic based muds(SBMs)are the kinds of drilling muds. SBMs have the good characteristic of OBMs in operation time and soWBMs environmental advantage. Direct discharge to sea, transport to onshore to treatment andrepump to well are the disposal methods for this muds. Barium and hydrocarbons are the basiccomponents of drilling muds. Studies show that several year after the end of drilling cutting discharge,the level of sediment pollution by Barium and hydrocarbons around 250m of discharge point is highand after that hydrocarbons decrease quickly but Barium decreasing is slowly. Environmentalevaluations show the bad effect of this waste on benthic foraminifera specifically around 250m ofdischarge point and increase the opportunistic species.The results show that the some of benthic foraminifera species can be successfully employed as bioindicatorsof environmental change. The suggestions for environmental effect of these wastedischarge includes: waste management for reach the zero- discharge, use of low environmental effectmud , environmental assessment and analyses before and after of drilling operation.

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