The fifth step of solids handling in the upstream oil & gas industry is Transport. Final disposal site determines transport route/method.

There are four categories of disposal;

1. Overboard discharge:

• Solids to be cleaned to spec then transported by pipe as a slurry to caisson

2. Slurry fracture injection:

• Solids do not need cleaned, transported by pipe as a slurry to injection pump

3. Landfill disposal:

• Solids cleaning typically not required
• Non-hazardous vs. hazardous disposal
• Onshore transport by truck or forklift
• Offshore transport by crane to ship to shore/truck to landfill

4. Unique methods:

• Add sand to road surface mix
• Add sand to existing drill cuttings disposal
• Grind sand to smaller size prior to injection disposal

The key factor in FSM design is – Know where to put the sand. Don’t constipate your system.

Unit Processes for Dewatering

1. If solids are in slurry form;

• Use pipeline to caisson for overboard discharge or pipeline to pump for injection into disposal well

2. If solids are in dewatered cake form;

• Use bag or bin container to ship or truck

Transport is detailed in module M9 and will be covered further in a future post.

Transport Examples

Three unit-process examples below show transport systems employed in the upstream oil & gas industry. The first (left) shows a slurry injection system to dispose of solids removed from produced water with a desander. This is an onshore system in environmentally sensitive area with zero discharge. The solids are mixed a slurry and pressurized to 90 bar for disposal into injection well. The middle system shows a deepwater facility using dewatering bag and skip to transport solids back to shore via boat. The system on the right shows a four-place dewatering bin from which solids are transported to shore for landfill disposal.