Reinjection of Mud and Cuttings

• Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA)
• Deposits in the Sea (Exemptions) Order 1985

A licence is required under FEPA for any waste disposal in the sea or under the seabed. However, the Deposits in the Sea (Exemptions) Order 1985 exempts from FEPA licensing the deposit on site or under the seabed of; any chemicals, drill cuttings or drilling muds in the course of the drilling or production operation.

However, export of drill cuttings to another field for reinjection will require a licence under FEPA.

• Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002
• Offshore Chemicals (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (pdf file)

Operational chemicals including drilling fluids contained in the waste stream for reinjection (whether onsite or offsite) requires a permit issued under the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002.

Amendments to the Offshore Chemicals Regulations 2002, made under Schedule 2 of the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (OPPC) increase the powers of DECC inspectors to investigate non-compliances and risk of significant pollution from chemical discharges, including the issue of prohibition or enforcement notices.

The amendment regulations came into force on 30 March 2011 and clarify the status of accidental releases and the reporting procedure for PON1s. See Pending Legislation for a description of key changes to the legislation.

• Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005
• Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

Under the OPPC Regulations a permit is required for reinjection of cuttings contaminated with reservoir hydrocarbons. An OPPC permit is not required for reinjection of cuttings contaminated solely with OBMs, as these are regulated under the Offshore Chemical Regulations 2002.See Pending Legislation for a description of key changes to the legislation with the new Amendment Regulations 2011.

• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 (London Dumping Convention)

The objective of this Convention is primarily the prevention of pollution associated with dumping to sea from ships and aircraft. Discharges "incidental to or derived from normal operation" of ships and aircraft are excluded from the definition of dumping. Definition of a ship includes fixed and floating offshore installations. As such, reinjection of drill cuttings in field is allowed as a "normal" operational waste. Collection and shipment of drill cuttings to another field or site for reinjection, is possible under the Convention provided a FEPA licence is obtained.

• OSPAR Decision 2000/3 on the Use of Organic-phase Drilling Fluids (OPF) and the Discharge of OPF-Contaminated Cuttings

This Decision cites reinjection as one means of reducing discharges to sea.

Onsite reinjection

A formal consent is not needed for OBM/SBM cuttings reinjection onsite. An application must however be made to DECC to obtain approval.

Export for reinjection at another field

For export of cuttings for reinjection at another field, a FEPA licence will be required. The first flush from well cleanup can also be exported for reinjection (see Snippets).

OPPC Permit (for reservoir hydrocarbon contaminated cuttings)

If cuttings are contaminated with reservoir hydrocarbons a permit will be required under the OPPC Regulations (see OPPC Summary Table).

Chemicals

If any chemicals are used, e.g. in pre-treatment of cuttings prior to reinjection, these will need to be subject to a chemical permit under the Offshore Chemicals Regulations. Pre-treatment at the site of disposal will need to be covered by a permit for the disposal installation, pre-treatment at the site of waste production will need to be covered by a chemical permit for the producing installation facility(see Drilling Chemicals).

Onsite reinjection

To obtain DECC approval for OBM/SBM reinjection apply by letter to DECC stating intention and providing details.

Export for reinjection at another field

A web based application form can be downloaded from DECC Website along with Guidance Notes.

In addition to routine administrative information, you must provide a method statement detailing where the wastes originate, how you propose to transport them to the disposal site, whether you intend to undertake any additional pre-treatment prior to reinjection and how you propose to undertake the reinjection operation. The latter should include a technical case to support the safe injection and containment of any disposed material. You must additionally provide an assessment of the alternative means of disposal to demonstrate that offsite reinjection is the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO).

Where disposal by reinjection will be at a site operated by a 3rd party, additional considerations will be required for any transhipment of wastes and the appropriate authority should be contacted to discuss the proposals prior to any formal application.

Applications that may have the potential to affect a designated European Site will also be subject to the provisions of the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001.

OPPC Permit (for reservoir hydrocarbon contaminated cuttings)

Applications for a permit under the OPPC Regulations must be made by application form, which is available for download from DECC website.

Guidance Notes on the OPPC Regulations and Permit Application are available for download from DECC website.

Reinjection at same field

DECC, Oil and Gas Office, Aberdeen, email, emt@decc.gsi.gov.uk

Export for reinjection at another field

For off-site injection operations in offshore waters adjacent to Scotland (i.e. excluding Scottish controlled waters), contact the Environmental Management Team, DECC Licensing and Consent Unit (LCU-OED), Atholl House, 86/88 Guild Street, Aberdeen AB11 6AR (emt@decc.gsi.gov.uk).

For off-site injection operations in English and Welsh waters (both near-shore and offshore waters), contact the Marine Consents and Environment Unit, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL (marine.consents@mceu.gsi.gov.uk).

Off-site injection is unlikely to take place in Scottish controlled waters (within three miles of the territorial seas baseline), where the FEPA Part II licensing authority is the Environmental Protection Group, FRS Marine Laboratory, PO Box 101, 375 Victoria Road, Torry, Aberdeen AB11 9DB (enquiries@marlab.ac.uk).

OPPC Permit (for reservoir hydrocarbon contaminated cuttings)

Application under the OPPC Regulations to be submitted electronically by email to offshore.inspectorate@decc.gsi.gov.uk.

DECC plan to incorporate this application system into DECC UK Oil Portal, once this is in place, all applications will be made via this system.

Reinjection at same field

For reinjection of OBM cuttings letter of application should be made 4-5 weeks before spud date.

Export for reinjection at another field

Applications normally take eight to ten weeks to process, but may take longer.

OPPC Permit (for reservoir hydrocarbon contaminated cuttings)

Applications must be submitted at least 28 days before the permit is required.

The licensing authorities will take account of any local sensitivity that could be adversely affected by the waste transport and disposal activities. Although applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, it is considered unlikely that injection would normally be approved within three miles of the territorial seas baseline.

Disposal of cuttings generated offshore by reinjection is allowed both onsite and offsite under revised DECC guidance (April 2003). Cuttings for reinjection may originate from any offshore field including those operated by other parties.

Disposal of cuttings from onshore is not permitted.

Disposal of LSA is currently still under consideration and not currently permitted.

Disposal of cuttings recovered from cutting piles is also still under consideration, although is likely to be considered sympathetically. Such applications will still require full consideration as part of an approved Decommissioning Programme.

Any chemicals contained in the waste for disposal requires a permit under the Offshore Chemicals Regulations. Any chemicals used during pre-treatment of cuttings will also require a permit either through a permit applicable to the waste generation site if this is where chemical use occurs or a chemical permit application for the disposal site if chemical pretreatment occurs here. In both cases it would normally be appropriate to include the chemicals in the installation production chemical permit (see Production Chemicals), although there could be occasions when chemicals used for pre-treatment at the site of production of the waste would be included in a term drilling chemical permit (see Drilling Chemicals).

Pretreatment of cuttings at the site of waste production is accepted (e.g. treatment of cuttings to convert to slurry). However it will not be permissible to mix the wastes with surplus unused material, other operational waste streams such as well intervention fluids, or materials such as sewage or domestic waste.

Pretreatment of cuttings at the reinjection site is accepted, and unlike at the site of waste production, includes mixing of waste with other waste streams generated at the disposal installation including drill cuttings, produced water or well intervention waste streams. However, as with waste production sites, it will not be permissible to mix the wastes with surplus unused material or materials such as sewage or domestic waste.

All applications for reinjection permits will be considered on a case by case basis taking into account any environmental sensitivities. It is unlikely that reinjection would normally be approved within 3 miles of the territorial seas baseline due to groundwater and water abstraction considerations.

There are no sampling or monitoring requirements where cuttings are being reinjected (see OPPC Sampling Summary Table - Well Operations).

If alternative discharge routes are used because of unavailability of reinjection, reference should be made to alternative consent/reporting requirements as appropriate.

See Drilling Chemicals.

Non-compliance would include discharge or reinjection of reservoir contaminated hydrocarbons without a valid permit being in place.

Any non-compliance must be reported using the OPPC non-compliance notification form, which can be downloaded from DECC website along with appropriate Guidance Notes.

Drill cuttings and the first 'flush' from well clean-ups can be shipped to another offshore site for reinjection. Supplementary advice from Derek Saward advised that DECC had decided the first 'flush' from the well can be transported as it is deemed to be still part of the drilling process. Subsequent flushes are a new operation and could not be transported.

Note This process must be as continuous as possible - any undue delay may be deemed by DECC as a break in the process and would remove the possibility of shipment and reinjection.