Declassification of drilling waste from oil & gas exploitation through end-of-waste criteria to be used as construction materials

All activities related to Oil & Gas Exploration, Production, Storage and Transportation involve waste generation associated to potential risk to environment. Waste types are related to Exploration and Producing (E&P) activities. These activities are: Drilling operations, Production operations, Completion operations, Work-over operations, Gas plant operations. Many of the materials and wastes associated with drilling activities have the potential to impact on the environment negatively. The potential impact depends primarily on the material, its concentration after release of the biotic community that is exposed. Some environmental risks may be significant whiles others are very low. The major impacts of great concerns are pollution of water bodies, pollution of land, as well as air pollution. In oil-based drilling activity, the waste thar is produced is mainly treated through thermochemical cutting cleaner to recover oil and solid fraction. Oil is be used again back to drilling activities as lubricated while solid fraction remains unused. The article 6 of the amendment Waste Framework Directive (WFD) 2018/851, set out a condition whereby a waste product would cease to be classed as waste if a market or demand existed for such a substance as well that has ceased to be waste and that has not been placed on the market; or places a material on the market for the first time after it has ceased to be waste, to ensure that the material meets relevant requirements under the applicable chemical and product related legislation, a Waste produced from drilling activities needs further attention. EWC are all the requirements that have to be satisfied by a material resulting from waste to confirm that the quality of the material is such that its use is not harmful for human health or the environment The paper focuses on the declassification of the solid fraction from the thermochemical cuttings cleaner, to be used as construction material.