Each year, thousands of new oil and gas wells are drilled in the United States and around the world. The drilling process generates millions of barrels of drilling waste each year, primarily used drilling fluids (also known as muds) and drill cuttings. The drilling wastes from most onshore U.S. wells are disposed of by removing the liquids from the drilling or reserve pits and then burying the remaining solids in place (called pit burial). This practice has low cost and the approval of most regulatory agencies. However, there are some environmental settings in which pit burial is not allowed, such as areas with high water tables. In the U.S. offshore environment, many water-based and synthetic-based muds and cuttings can be discharged to the ocean if discharge permit requirements are met, but oil-based mud cannot be discharged at all. At some offshore facilities, drilling wastes must be either hauled back to shore for disposal or disposed of onsite through an injection process.

Reprinted with Permission from Argonne National Laboratory