TWMA, operators in Norway coordinate efforts for offshore drilling waste management on NCS

TWMA, a provider of specialized services for the international onshore and offshore oil and gas industry, has begun work with the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF) as part of efforts to create a new standard of best practice for treating drilling wastes at source through offshore processing. Using state-of-the-art technology, by-products of drilling operations are recovered, recycled and reused, significantly reducing operator costs and environmental impact.

OLF has established a steering group to coordinate efforts by operators to have recognized protocols for handling and treating waste materials associated with drilling operations offshore on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. TWMA is providing the group with advice and sharing its experiences of providing treatment and processing solutions for the energy industry around the globe.

The steering group involves operators within the Norwegian sector, including Det Norske and Lundin Norway AS.

“Some of the largest operators within the industry have major interests in the Norwegian sector and have come together with OLF as part of a united, concerted effort to agree a set of best practice standards for treating drilling wastes at source,” Rob O’Neill, sales director for TWMA, said.

In addition TWMA has provided samples to the steering group from its Mongstad facility in Norway and from ongoing offshore operations in the UK North Sea, which will be independently tested. The results will be shared among the group members.

TWMA has also provided a comprehensive dossier containing relevant studies, test results and personal accounts from its experiences, and from having participated in a similar process with the UK Government in 2001.