Spelling it out:
The Three Es of At-Source Fluid Waste Management

For many years, the default approach when it comes to managing offshore waste has been to tank it ashore for treatment. But new initiatives like the North Sea Transition Deal, published in March 2021, have put practical and sustainable solutions at the top of everyone’s agenda. Below, we share our top motivations for at-source fluid waste management– the three Es: economy, efficiency and, ever more important, the environment.

Considering fluid separation

At-source solutions for separating water, oil and solids often take the form of age-old techniques like mechanical separation. In fact, mechanical separation is already a common feature on many offshore assets as a means of cleaning fuels and oils for operational re-use, delivering efficiency gains for operators.

But now, we’re seeing an increase in the number of offshore oil and gas projects where on-site fluid separation solutions are being deployed specifically to manage waste, reflecting their extensive abilities to deal with everything from oily water and slops to completion or bilge fluids.

Recently we completed a project in the North Sea to clean tanks on an FPSO prior to decommissioning. The operator had initially planned to ship the fluids ashore but instead opted for an at-source solution, involving the supply, installation and management of a decanter and disk stack centrifuge system on the asset. By doing this, we were able to treat around 8,000m³ of waste fluids and solids and around 79% was discharged at-source.

We’ve done the maths: Economy and efficiency

There’s talk that on-site fluid waste management isn’t always the best solution in terms of cost-efficiency and potential maintenance burdens but, in reality, when deployed correctly it delivers across multiple fronts.

The cleaning of tank fluids on the FPSO project we worked on, showcases how at-source solutions have the potential to impact the closely interlinked themes of economy and efficiency.

By our calculations, transporting 8,000m³ of materials ashore for disposal would have required the use of 2,285 skips, 16 vessel sailings and 950 truck movements onshore. Mechanical separation dramatically reduces these logistical strains, while also easing deck space pressures and personnel capacity issues.

How fluid waste management shines a light on the environment

Ongoing discussions around the energy transition have undoubtedly injected fresh incentives into creating a lower carbon future. Linked to a more efficient decommissioning market, it creates a backdrop against which service companies can move beyond the status of product providers and instead become partners in the pursuit of these strategic goals.

Cost considerations aside, many of the above statistics show how the carbon footprint gain for the operator and showcase how at-source fluid waste management can eliminate the potential environmental risks posed by multiple movements of waste materials.

At-source fluid waste management is just one of many ways we can collectively work to minimise the environmental impact of offshore activity, while still pursuing commercial objectives; the three Es neatly summarise how it can make a tangible contribution.

Find out how we can help to support your fluid waste management.