Drill cuttings processing to meet operators

“Our original objective was to supply oil-based mud-handling equipment,” Mr Geng said. But the focus shifted to drill cuttings processing to meet operators’ needs of managing high volumes of drilling wastes, which were putting increased pressure on trucking and the land disposal facilities, he explained. EDS fitted the dryer equipment onto trucks, making the process mobile, thus allowing multiple rigs to be serviced with one system.

“EDS’ mobile drying trucks reclaim, recycle and reuse expensive drilling fluids at the rig site, ultimately reducing the environmental footprint,” he said.

The process involves a vertical centrifuge using a high G force to remove oil and liquids from the drill cuttings, reducing haul-off volumes by 50%.

“EDS took what we considered to be the best technology available and modified the process to make it work more efficiently and cost-effectively,” Mr Geng said. The company also utilizes a hydraulic vacuum system that removes the solids and liquids that make up the waste stream from the drill cuttings box and transfers them to the rotating dryer for processing.

The oil-based mud is returned to the rig for reuse, and the drill cuttings, with an oil content of less than 3%, are either buried on location with regulatory approval or trucked to a designated disposal site. The average distance from a well to a disposal site is 200 miles one way.

“Our purpose-built mobile equipment reduces waste volumes and transportation, and recycles the mud that otherwise would be lost on the drill cuttings, adding to disposal costs,” Mr Geng noted.