OXY USA, Inc.
is a large oil and gas
production company, a subsidiary of Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation and Occidental
Petroleum Corporation. The proposed well site was located on lands which were directly
adjacent to the Tishomingo Wildlife Refuge.
Improvements
The pollution prevention project centered around an exploration well in
Johnston County, Oklahoma, drilled on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Some
of the P2 measures instituted in the drilling of the well were:
- drill site entirely enclosed with a berm capable of holding several times the volume of
liquids stored on location plus any anticipated precipitation
- location pad and berm were built with an impermeable clay base. The area under the
drilling rig itself was protected by a 30 mil plastic liner a smaller casing was selected
which allowed for the use of a 25% smaller hole and generated lesser amounts of cuttings
and used smaller amounts of drilling fluids
- a closed-loop mud system was instituted which allowed for reuse of drilling fluids and
use of smaller quantities of water for dilution of the mud to control viscosity and
density
- compressed air was used as the drilling fluid where possible. This allowed for the use
of smaller quantities of water and drilling fluid in the drilling fluid system.
Savings and Benefits
The pollution prevention measures listed above are responsible for the
following benefits and financial savings:
- the hole size reduction, use of air drilling, and closed-loop system resulted in waste
reduction of nearly 1.5 million pounds. A material and disposal cost savings of $12,700
was also realized
- low-toxicity additives allowed for the land application of the used drilling fluids and
cuttings
- reduced hole size resulted in fewer environmental impacts, as did the use of air
drilling
- building the location with the capability of containing all liquids reduces the
potential for pollution
OXY USA, Inc.
Box 300
Tulsa, OK 74102
Waste stream
: used drilling fluid,
drilled cuttings