Environment Report 2014

Drill cuttings returned to shore (or back-loaded cuttings) may contain residues of drilling fluids and are usually sent to specialist treatment plants in the north east of Scotland, where solids are recovered and oil and water are separated. In 2013, the recovered solids accounted for 56 per cent of back-loaded cuttings, with the majority sent to landfill (32,000 tonnes) following treatment. Nineteen per cent (9,400 tonnes) of back-loaded cuttings were recycled last year.

1

2

Figure 14: Disposal Route of Back-Loaded Cuttings from the UK Continental Shelf from 2001 to 2013

3

*

Landfill

Reuse and Recycle

Other

Incineration

Waste to Energy

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000

4

5

Tonnes

6

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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*Other: Any other disposal route, includes composting, land spreading and treatment of aqueous wastes

Source: EEMS June 2014

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3.6.3 Potential Environmental Impacts Wastes deemed hazardous only present a risk to the environment if they are improperly managed. Modern disposal and recycling techniques, such as engineered landfill, incineration and recovery of waste oils minimise the environmental impact.

Disposal to landfill is costly and is not sustainable in the long term. Operators segregate wastes to reduce the quantity of material going to landfill and to maximise reuse or recycling.

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