The Beneficial Use Task Force of the ASTSWMO Materials Management Subcommittee undertook the task of surveying the States and Territories (States) regarding beneficial uses of various fill-like materials in the United States. This report summarizes the results of that survey and provides a discussion of the results.
Beneficial Use Task Force
Beneficial Use of Drill Cuttings, Produced Water and Fluids in the U.S.
The Beneficial Use Task Force developed this report as a supplement to their March 2015 Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Waste Management Survey Report. In the 2015 Survey Report, the Task Force recommended further exploration of how exploration and production (E&P) waste streams are currently beneficially used in various States, and whether information on current uses may support increased beneficial use of particular E&P wastes, or may point to any limitations for beneficial use. This Supplemental Report summarizes the Task Force’s efforts to implement this recommendation, focusing on the beneficial use of three waste streams identified in the 2015 report as “high-volume” waste streams: Drill Cuttings, Produced Water and Water-Based Drilling Fluid/Mud. The information in the Supplemental Report was gathered between February and June 2016.