16. Bulk shipment of cuttings

Tthe biggest barriers to the widespread adoption of the transportation of cuttings to shore for disposal are the high cost of shipping and the weather down time. Storage of cuttings on the rig in tanks rather than containers might allow a greater storage volume and therefore a longer period of drilling before off-loading of cuttings was required. Furthermore, bulk haulage vessels would also carry a greater tonnage of waste, allowing a reduction in the number of dedicated vessels required to service a fleet of drilling rigs. Of even greater potential advantage, however, would be the ability to pump cuttings from rig to ship via a floating hose if this would allow the waste to be transferred in weather where normal loading operations would be shut down.

Reciprocating pumps developed in the mining industry are available which will pump cuttings in the form they leave the shale shakers over considerable distances. If a low price vessel were available that could hold its position off the rig even in bad weather, such a pump might be used to transfer drill cuttings irrespective of the sea / wind state. It might be noted that the transfer would be easier if the cuttings were slurrified prior to being pumped, but the formation of a slurry requires the addition of significant volumes of water which would add to the volume to be transported and greatly increase the cost of the final processing of the cuttings to remove the oil.