Environmental Problems and Solutions in the Petroleum Industry
Level: Basic
Upcoming Sessions:
To Be Determined
Please Contact Us at tahmed@mtech.edu for more information
Instructors: Dr. Samuel Osisanya
Designed for:
This course is designed for engineers, geologists, drilling and production personnel, health and
safety personnel, and landman.
Course Overview:
This course is designed to provide participants with an overview of environmental problems and solutions
in the petroleum industry.
Course Content:
- Introduction to Environmental Problems and Solutions to Petroleum Engineers
- Keys to Producing Oil and Gas in Environmentally Sound Ways
- Consequences of Oil and Gas Production Environmental Hazards
- API and Exxon-Valdez Environmental Principles
- Sources and Types of Waste
- Drilling and Completion Wastes - Overview of the Drilling and Completion Processes
- Production Wastes - Overview of Production Processes & Composition of Produced Waters, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM), & Associated Wastes
- Workovers Wastes (Sand Consolidation, Acidizing & Fracturing)
- Impact of Petroleum Industry Wastes
- Effects on Animals and Plants
- Field Studies – Oil Discharges, Brine Discharges, and Discharges from Offshore Platforms
- Air Pollution and Acoustic Impacts
- Pathways for Transport of Petroleum Wastes
- Surface Paths – Land and Water
- Subsurface Paths – Ground Water, Abandon Wells, and Water
- Atmospheric Paths - Emissions, Onshore Spills, and Soil Excavation
- Regulations Affecting Petroleum Exploration and Production
- U.S. Federal Government - Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Acts, Clean Air Act, CERCLA (Superfund), SARA, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
- States and Local Agencies
- Other Countries
- Cost of Environmental Compliance
- Planning Environmental Compliance
- Environmental Audits
- Waste Management Plants
- Risk Assessment
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan
- Contingency Plans
- Waste Clean-up
- Waste Minimization
- Release Prevention
- Abandonment - Abandoned Wells, Platform Removal
- Sensitive Environments - Rain Forests, Arctic, Subsidence
- Waste Treatment and Disposal
- Treatment Methods – Water Purification, De-watering of Wastes, Hydrocarbon Removal Wastes, Chemical Treatment of Wastes
- Disposal Methods - Surface Disposal and Subsurface Disposal
- Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials
- Air Emissions
- Waste Cleanup
- Waterways, Shorelines
- Land and Groundwater
- Air Stripping – Adsorption, Bio-remediation, Volatilization, Surfactants
- Reserves Pit Cleanup
- Sulfur Pad Cleanup
- Costs