Innovations in Mitigating the Risks from Drill Cuttings Accumulation
Abstract
The life cycle of drill cuttings across all stages – from oil production and transportation to disposal ‒ leaves an ecological footprint that causes serious harm to society. This includes impacts on climate change due to environmental emissions associated with decomposition, as well as inefficient treatment and disposal technologies. Minimizing environmental impact requires the establishment of effective management strategies to mitigate risks associated with the catastrophic accumulation of drill cuttings. This article presents innovative systems demonstrating the feasibility of managing the oil well drilling process by, paradoxically, utilizing the drill cuttings themselves. The study examines examples of new technologies that serve as alternatives to traditional processing methods, enabling the selection of efficient disposal pathways: supercritical and critical fluid extraction, plasma treatment, and drilling mud filtration.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rugiya A. Ismailova, Elshan N. Aliyev, Samira A. Garaybeyli, and Fidan S. Gahramanova
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