MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF

NEWFOUNDLAND
DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND
APPLIED SCIENCE

1st ASSIGNMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS

OPERATION

Submitted By- Submitted To-

PRANAV JAGURI Dr. HONGJING WU
Student ID- 201891511 T.A- YUNWEN TAO
Masc. Oil and Gas Engineering EN9625
 Assignment-1

Question 1: What’s “4Rs”? Please give specific examples for each one.

Answer: Waste can take any form as solid, liquid, or gas and each have different methods of
disposal and management. Waste management basically deals with all types of waste whether it
was created in forms that are industrial, biological, household, and special cases where it may
pose a threat to human health. It is produced due to human activity such as when factories extract
and process raw materials. Waste management is intended to reduce adverse effects of waste
on health, the environment or aesthetics. ‘4Rs’ is being developed from ‘3Rs’ consisting of
following reduce, reuse, recycle and recover which are the waste management techniques.
Whereas, some companies sometimes axis only on the first three in resolving waste management
problems other than more ingenious companies, 4Rs solutions often emerge because of industry
benchmarking or technological breakthroughs. The 4Rs provides an ecologically sound and
environmentally friendly approach to minimizing and managing waste and waste streams.

 Reduce - This means we should reduce waste production at the origin which is
downgrading the quantity of waste during production, distribution, buying, use, and
discharging. It also means to purchase only the needy things and lessening packaging.
We must reduce waste production at the source. This means reducing the quantity of
waste during production, distribution, purchasing, use and elimination
Example - 1. Replace your consumption of disposable objects and products by reusable
ones. Like cloth napkins instead of paper napkins, cloth or strainer coffee filters,
eliminate throw-away razors, lighters, non-rechargeable batteries, etc., 2. Buy used, 3.
Buy recycled or recyclable products, 4. Buy products that aren't over-packaged, 5. Buy
recyclable products, 6. Buy products that contain recycled materials.
 Reuse - Reuse is generally preferred to recycle because reuse generally consumes less
energy and resources than recycling. Waste is defined as material for which no use
or reuse is intended. Thus, reuse prevents objects and materials from becoming waste.
Therefore, reuse is a form of waste prevention.
Example - Use a reusable plastic or cotton bag for your purchases. If the volume of your
purchases exceeds the volume of your bags, take the plastic bag provided by the store and
 reuse it at least once in your kitchen garbage can. This action remains “the most
beneficial for the environmental, after the reusable bag.
• Buy family packs whenever possible. Family pack means a large container of yogurt
instead of many small ones or two liters of juice instead of eight 250-ounce ones. Family
packs cost much less and make for much less waste. And, you can reuse containers for
leftovers, lunches, storing small items.
 Recycle - Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and
objects. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and
help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Like reuse, recycle means recovering an object and
giving it a second life. While reusing an object means using it without really modifying it
or favoring multi-purpose objects and products over single-use ones, recycling means
bringing an object back to a state of raw material: paper goes back to pulp, plastics are
melted and molded into new products, etc.
Example - A jam jar is entirely recyclable, but you must separate the container from the
lid. A binder is not recyclable, but the two cardboard covers are! You must remove the
plastic spiral binding on a notebook, take out the metal papers from your cigarette packs,
remove the plastic bag from the cereal box, etc.
 Recover – It means to recover the retrieve waste energy or the material from the waste
products through chemical and biological processes. Through the various procedures we
can use recovered energy for example in the form of fuel or electricity.
Example – The organic materials can be treated with anaerobic digestion and turned into
energy, compost or fertilizer, Bionomic sanitation is the best example.

Question 2: An oil tank stores 55 ft3 volume of a crude oil and totally weights 4,350 lbs. We
know that the net weight of tank is 1,130 lbs. and the average boiling point of this crude oil is
162F. The ambient temperature is 60F. 1) Calculate the API gravity. 2) Classify the oil using
API, Kw and CI methods.

Answer: Given parameters are as follows

Volume of crude oil i.e. 55 ft3

Total weight is 4350 lbs.
Net weight of oil is 1130 lbs.
Therefore, Weight of oil will be: - (4350-1130) lbs. = 3220lbs.
By converting lbs. into Kilograms, 3220 lbs. will be 1460.57 kgs
Now, Specific gravity of oil (SG): 1460.57/1.56 X 1000 = 0.94
Then, for API Gravity we have formula i.e. API = 141.5/SG-131.5
API = 141.5/0.94 – 131.5 = 19.032 API
AS, it is lower than 20, so crude oil is aromatic.
Now, using the KW Classification,

Formula is KW- TB (1/3)/SG, here TB is the average boiling point,

(460 +162)(1/3)
KW = 0.94

According to the Watson characterization factor:

• KW is similar for paraffinic compounds

• KW < 10 for highly aromatic compounds
• When KW vary from the value 10.5 to 12.9, then referred for highly naphthenic crude.

As value is 9.081 then it comes under the category of highly aromatic compounds.

CI classification, CI = 87552/TB + 473.7 G – 456.8

Now putting values, CT = 87552/ (160+460) + 473.7 x0.94 -456.8 =129.7

Conditions for correlation Index are as followed

• If, CI = 0, it is straight chain paraffin

• If fraction is between (0-15) then, it is paraffinic hydrocarbon
• Values between 15-50, it would be mixture of naphthene &aromatic compounds or could
be naphthene.
• Highly aromatic value should be more than 50.
Therefore, crude oil is highly aromatic.

Question 3: What is produced water? Give a brief description about the fate of produced water.
Try to discuss the most toxic component(s) in the produced water.

Answer: Produce water is a development of produced water along with the hydrocarbons which
may contain condensed or injected water. Oil wells produce more water as compared to the gas
wells. The water being produced is a byproduct which comes along with oil and gas.

Fate - The produced water forms an accolade in the sea and gets mixed slowly when the volume
that is discharged of produce water that is larger than dilution which is lower. It gets discharged
from the industries above or below the sea surface. Produce water affects the land area as it
contains the harmful components as alkyl phenols and aromatic hydrocarbons which ultimately
affects the soil and vegetation. It also affects the biological cycle of fishes by affecting their
reproduction as seen in North Sea regions. The factors causing problem to dilution rate are
discharge rate, chemical composition between produced water and sea water.

Toxic components - The major components of produce water comprise benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene, xylenes called as BTEX which are aromatic hydrocarbons and whose
concentration varies from 2 and 58 mg-L/1 and their effects cannot be removed biologically,
heterocyclic aromatic compounds and related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons denoted as
PAH. Effects of PAH includes – Cardiac function deformity, oxidation stress, and
embryotoxicity. AP and Phenol lead to biological effects. Naphthenic acid and metals like -
arsenic, copper, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, cadmium and most plenteous elements
as- radium-226 and radium-228 are found in produce water.

Question 4: What is drilling fluid? Describe the classification of drilling fluids. Why drilling
fluids are always considered to be toxic? Is it possible to stop using it directly?

Answer: Drilling fluid is any fluid that is circulated in the borehole to help in carrying out a
cost-effective and efficient drilling operation resulting in stable and gauged borehole to targeted
depth with minimum possible damage to prospective formations. The various kinds of drilling
fluid normally used are water, bentonite mud, cutting oil, and polymers (both water-based and
mud-based).
 ❖ Water based fluids: It is freely available fluid and is primarily used in core drilling
operation. It has very good cooling properties and acts as moderate lubricant and
vibration dampener.
❖ Pneumatic drilling fluids: As the word itself suggests that gas is used instead of drilling
fluid to pass around cutting out of the wells. Using this fluid has many merits like higher
penetration, little damage while in use.
❖ Bentonite Mud: This increases the viscosity and gives better cleaning of the hole. It acts
as very good lubricant and reduces the vibrations in the string considerably. It forms cake
on the borehole walls and thus protects the caving in the borehole. Bentonite mud
solution has gelling properties and thus it keeps the cutting in suspension even when the
circulation is stopped.
❖ Polymer: The polymer has similar properties as that of bentonite mud except gel
strength. It has excellent flushing capacity. The only drawback is that circulation is to be
maintained all the time else the cuttings will quickly settle at the bottom and jam the
string.
❖ Oil based fluids: Today’s world oil-based drilling fluids are usually developed with
paraffin’s, Minerals oils and diesel. It was introduced in the 19 th century to solve the
issues like containments and bottom hole increasing temperatures. In this hydrocarbon oil
is the major component with the presence of water in very less amount.
Drilling fluid are always considered to be toxic because it contains EPA which is priority
pollutants include various trade metals; zinc, chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium, nickel,
asbestos, and various phenol compounds. Chromium is a highly controversial issue; the EPA
defines toxic chrome as Cr+6. In drilling fluids, the chrome exists in a trivalent state (Cr+3) and
the process to oxidize the absorbed chrome back to a Cr+6 state is virtually impossible.
Additives that contain chrome in the Cr+3 state are: chrome lignite and chrome lignosulfonate.
It is impossible to stop using the drilling fluid directly, but the amount of effects and harmful
chemicals mixed in a fluid can be decreased.

Question 5: If a seismic survey is required before an oil exploration in the Terry Nova oil field,
what kind of potential environmental impacts could be caused? How to plan for a seismic
survey?
Answer: The basic potential issues of seismic survey exploration activities include:

❖ Alarums and excursions to marine life from underwater sound like air gun arrays create
the strongest sound levels associated with exploration.
❖ Displacement or smothering of benthos by accumulation of drill mud and cuttings.
❖ Disaccord with commercial fisheries from exclusion zones, vessel traffic and seismic
survey gear and Seabird attraction and stranding on marine vessels.

Plan - In this marine operation, a specialized vessel tows a “seismic streamer”, or a collection of
cables with seismic sources and hydrophones attached. The seismic sources use compressed air
to produce acoustic energy. The hydrophones capture the returning sound waves. Oil and gas
explorers use seismic surveys to produce detailed images of the various rock types and their
location beneath the Earth's surface and they use this information to determine the location and
size of oil and gas reservoirs. Some regulators approve seismic survey work and establish
environmental protection conditions for every survey conducted to ensure that offshore seismic
surveys are conducted safely, with minimal impact on the marine environment through careful
planning and oversight.

Question 6: Briefly describe 1) What is petroleum waste? 2) What are the specific sources? 3)
The adverse impacts on the environment and human health caused by petroleum wastes.

Answer: Petroleum Waste - The waste generated by oil and gas industry is known as petroleum
waste which can be in form of gas, liquid and solid waste materials. These are basically
originated due to the activities of petroleum industries which have an adverse effect on
environment and human health.

Sources- The sources of petroleum waste include various processes involved in oil and gas
industries such as –

• Seismic surveys – It is a geophysical method which is used to find hydrocarbons through

subsurface imaging and possible reservoir with this the common waste generated
includes explosive waste, domestic waste and equipment waste.
• Construction – The waste includes- paints, domestic wastes, lubricants and solvents
which originates from oil and gas fields processing facilities of tanks, tubing, cables,
pipes, etc.
 • Drilling system – Common wastes from drilling are cementing waste, well completion,
process water, production testing waste, mud cuttings, drilling chemicals and domestic
waste.
• Production – Waste from production process originates from wells already drilled and
extraction of oil and gas from reservoir which includes production chemicals, work over
waste and produce water.
• Abandonment – Abandonment wastes consists of plant equipment, oil sludge and
construction materials.
• Maintenance – These wastes comes from vehicle repair and drilling over rig repair
including filters, used parts, infected soil and lubricants.

Impacts - The petroleum waste leads to cancer and other serious effects substituting the toxic or
carcinogenic components in the human health. Harmful components like benzene and lead leads
to leukemia and brain damage with retardation in children respectively. It also effects ecological
diversity of the area including plants, animals, oceans and fishes, causes air pollution by mixing
of NOx, SO2, CO2, and CH4 particulates, pollutes groundwater and surface water by mixing of
heavy metals, spilled oil and organic wastes. It also leads to soil contamination due to leaking
oils, BTEX, lead and waste crude oils.

Question 7: Please describe different drilling activities during offshore oil and gas operations
and provide brief descriptions for discharged drilling wastes. What are potential consequences
for releasing drilling discharges?

Answer: The drilling activities of offshore oil and gas includes basically two types of operations
– exploratory and development. The geological and geophysical survey stage includes drilling
operations, collecting information about geological parameters and drilling conditions and core
and shallow drilling operation. Drilling depending over climate, depth of water and types of
drilling units involves – mobile floating units as drill barges, semisubmersible rigs, etc. and
bottom floating units as jack up rigs and submersible rigs. Exploratory drilling activities includes
the mobile floating units consisting of drill ships, semi-submersible rigs. In the arctic areas the
well being drilled from ice or gravel and in this process, fluids are pumped down drill pipe and
propagate up the cuttings. Now, these cuttings are being tested and if no hydrocarbon is present
the well is plugged and cut off below sea floor or if its available the well is plugged with cadre. It
uses 3000-6000bbls/well. Development drilling units are same as exploration units but here
drilling is done from a floating and fixed platform where the platform remains single and it may
use directional drilling.
The drilling waste are being discharged from the all the stages of offshore petroleum industries
which are the unwanted discharges of gas, liquid and solid. Drilling methods remains same
where the piping sections and rotating bits decreasing when well gets deeper, the drilling fluids
is being continuously pumped down in drill pipe and back up to surface with drill cuttings, the
sides of the hole are supported by steel casing cemented for isolation and the drilling cuttings are
being removed at the surface from where the drilling muds gets back to circulating system. These
wastes include drilling cuttings, fluids and metals. The impacts of discharge drilling wastes are -
❖ Impact on water column depends on fluid separation technology, time, discharge
procedures and oceanographic settings.
❖ The WBF cuttings tends disperse quickly in water column.
❖ NAF drilling cuttings disperse to lesser extent and settle
❖ It decreases the sea life primary production.
❖ It lowers down the light penetration.
❖ It tends to change the biological cycle of marine life.
❖ Changes settling rate of plankton larvae and invertebrates.
❖ Smoothens the benthic layer.
❖ It decreases the diversity and amount of flora and fauna after drilling.
❖ Biochemical changes in marine life.
❖ It tends to increase the sensitivity of marine ecology.