Argonne National LaboratoryOperated by The University of Chicagofor the U.S. Department of Energy

Drilling Waste Management Information System

R. Sullivan, T. Kotek, P. Richmond, M. Puder, D. Elcock

Environmental Science Division

October 26, 2006

An Interactive Web-Based Tool for Access to Technological, Environmental,

and Regulatory Information on Drilling Waste Management

Topics

What is drilling waste and why is it a problem?

Drilling Waste Management Information System (DWMIS) approach

DWMIS module screen shots

Results

Technology used

Work funded by DOE Office of Fossil Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory

Drilling Waste Results from Oil and Gas Exploration

Drilling waste consists of drilling mud and solid drill cuttings

– Drilling mud lubricates drill bit and carries cuttings to surface

– Solid drill cuttings must be separated from mud so mud can be recycled

Generally produced in large volumes during well drilling

Waste can cause environmental problems when disposed

Drilling Waste Management Decisions Are Complex

Drilling waste disposal can be costly

– Disposal method must be determined prior to beginning operations

Many technical options for drilling waste management

– Three main management methods, 12 sub-options, with many variations

– Not all options are allowed or make sense in all locations

– New, environmentally-friendly methods available

Complex regulations exist at federal and state level for disposal practices

– Can greatly restrict available options

How do operators determine which drilling waste management methods to use?

Drilling Waste Management Information System (DWMIS)

Three modules:

Technology Description Module – technical fact sheets on current disposal methods and technologies

Regulatory Module – compendium of federal and state regulations

Technology Identification Module – expert system to select reasonable disposal alternatives for a given location and circumstances.

Web-based resource for environmentally responsible drilling waste management decision making

DWMIS Home Page

http://web.evs.anl.gov/dwm

Opening Screen of the Technology Description Module

Example of a Fact Sheet in the Technology Description Module

Opening Screenshot of the Regulatory Module

Example of a State Agency Page in the Regulatory Module

Link to Texas Regulations

Opening Screen of the Technology Identification Module

The Technology Identification Module Development Team

Domain Experts

Web Technical Lead

Usability Expert

Technical Programmer

Graphic Designer

Internal Reviewers

External Review Panel

X 5

Overview of Flow Diagram

Key Decision Points

– Offshore vs. onshore

– U.S. waters vs. non-U.S. waters

– Environmentally sensitive area?

Responses trigger appropriate question

sequences

Questions on Waste Minimization and Reuse

Overview of Flow Diagram

Offshore drilling

U.S. Waters

Waste Type Description

Overview of Flow Diagram

Onshore drilling

Not environmentally sensitive

Land application options

Sample Screen from an Interactive Online Questionnaire

Overview of Flow Diagram

RESULTS

Results Screen – Based on Answers to Questions

DWMIS Has Been Used Actively Since Launch

Site launched June 2004

365,000 page views in 87,000 user sessions (~100 sessions/day)

42,000+ users

Usage increasing steadily

Currently funded to create similar application for produced waters management

Software and Programming Tools Used for DWMIS

HTML

– Formats and presents the web site content (e.g., images and text)

JavaScript

– Enables fast application interaction for a rich user-friendly approach

– Dynamic display of follow-up questions

ColdFusion

– Rapid development environment for Web pages

– Allows conditional processing on the server

– Provides session management capability

For More Information

Bob Sullivan

630-252-6182

sullivan@anl.gov

Drilling Waste Management Information Systemhttp://web.evd.anl.gov/dwm