In 2015 SAR established a plant for treatment of OBM Drill Cuttings for Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) in North Kuwait.
The plant has been in operation since July 2015 and uses Indirect Thermal Desorption Technology to treat weathered drill cuttings from old pits and fresh drill cuttings collected at rig sites. The plant has capacity to treat approximately 26,000 tons of OBM cuttings per year. SAR provides KOC with a tailored, total solution for handling of OBM Cuttings, including collection, transportation, treatment and disposal. Overall focus of the operation is to optimize recovery and reuse and minimize waste disposal.
+965 972 77 865
kuwait.plantmanager@sargruppen.no
In 2014 Kuwait oil Company KOC awarded SAR a five-year contract for treatment of oil-based mud drill cuttings. SAR established a facility for treatment of OBM cuttings in North Kuwait, and operation of the facility commenced in July 2015.
The objective of the project is to serve KOC initiative to reduce drilling operations impact on the environment by decreasing the number of new and existing drill cuttings pits. To reach this objective SAR collect OBM cuttings from two different sources, fresh cuttings from the drilling rigs and old cuttings from previous drilling operations.
The fresh cuttings are picked up by SAR at the drilling rigs where the cuttings are loaded in skips for transport on flatbed trucks to the SAR treatment facility. At the plant the skips are weighed, and the fresh cuttings are emptied into the storage pits.
Old drill cuttings from previous drilling operations are stored in pits in the desert. SAR remove all drill cuttings and other oil contaminated material from the pits and transport it to the treatment facility. There the cuttings are weighed, and the old cuttings are emptied into the storage pits. A gantry crane feed the cuttings from the storage pits into the treatment plant.
The first step of the treatment process is to remove larger rocks and debris from the cutting. The treatment of the OBM drill cuttings is carried out using a Thermal mechanical cutting cleaner (TCC). The TCC unit is placed inside a building where it is protected from the harsh environment. The TCC uses a technology that separates the solids, base oil and water in the drill cuttings. The capacity of the TCC unit is 4 to 6 tons per hour. The treatment process is fully automated, and continuously monitored and controlled by the SAR supervisors. Samples are taken before, during and after the treatment process to document the process and ensure that the set treatment criteria are met.
The average oil content in solids after treatment is 0.2% TPH. Samples from the bottom of the old pits are also analyzed to ensure that oil-contaminated material is completely removed.
The thermal desorption technology allows full recovery of base oil with unchanged quality. The recovered oil can be reused in new oil-based mud or used as fuel for generators, boilers, etc.
The SAR facility recovers around 14 million liters of base oil. This makes the facility self-sufficient with energy, and excess oil is sold to KOC approved Companies.
Recovered oil and water are stored in large tanks at the treatment facility; cleaned cuttings are loaded on tipper trucks and transported back to the desert for the backfilling of the old pits.
SAR`s treatment facility has the capacity to treat up to 30,000 tons of OBM cuttings per year.
During the five years of operation, SAR cleans 80 old pits and serve 96 rig sites.
We are strategically located along the Norwegian coast from Stavanger in the south to Hammerfest in the north.
Oljeveien 1, N-4056 TANANGER
P.Box 83, 4098 Tananger
+47 51 94 44 44
Are you an existing customer and want to place an order?
Need help and want to get in touch with support?
Would you like to talk to one of our sales reps about our services?
