Well Drilling: 3 Ways The Industry Is Becoming More Environmentally Sustainable
Posted on: 22 April 2015
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Well drilling has gotten a bad rap in recent years, mostly in lieu of spills that, for the most part, represent only a small fraction of the drilling business. Nonetheless, increased scrutiny of the well drilling trade has given rise to a number of sustainability initiatives designed to promote a more eco-friendly approach to the search and excavation of earth's natural resources. Below are some of the ways drilling outfits have begun transforming their operations with green practices.
Low Emission Motors
One significant way well drilling enterprises have made the shift towards more sustainable operations is in the utilization of low emission drilling rigs. The motors on these rigs have substantially lower emissions of carbon monoxide and other volatile organic compounds than older models had. Certain types of low emission motors also result in lower formaldehyde and methane emissions, two of the most hazardous byproducts of combustion.
Purpose-Built Rigs
Another way the drilling industries have improved their operations' sustainability is by designing drilling rigs built for specific purposes or settings. The development of the 'walking rig,' for instance, eliminates a number of inefficiencies. Perhaps the most significant benefit of walking rigs is that they require no disassembly or reassembly when moving from one drilling pad to another, which dramatically improves worker safety.
In walking from one pad to another, these rigs are also reducing the expenditures associated with transportation. In, fact disassembling and reassembling a rig's components can cost upwards of $1,000,000. Now, that money can be put towards other sustainable initiatives, like, waste management.
Eco-Friendly Disposal Of Drilling Waste
Perhaps the most significant improvement in drilling practices has been in the realm of waste disposal and reduction. One way well drilling enterprises have been able to reduce their overall disposal is in utilizing components that can recover previously used drilling fluids and purify them.
In other words, rather than disposing used drilling fluids, companies can reuse drilling them, again and again. In total, these technologies can reduce drilling fluid disposal by 77%. This is a considerable accomplishment when one considers that most drilling sites require some hundreds of thousands of gallons of water for production.
Recent innovations have also given rise to environmentally friendly drilling fluids. Commonly referred to as 'drilling mud', these green alternatives to conventional drilling fluids are water-based or made from synthetic compounds, and contain far fewer contaminants than traditional fluids.
Overall, well drilling organizations have made considerable investments in drilling technology to improve the industry's environmental sustainability. For more information, contact a well drilling company in your area, such as Henderson Well & Pump Co.