Compared to onshore drilling waste processing, offshore drilling waste disposal processing cost is higher. Some oil and gas fields always set specified special landfill for oilfield waste treatment. In other areas, the operator can transport drilling waste to urban or industrial drilling waste management field to fill when it meets the discharged drilling waste standard. There are several methods to underground reinjection such as discharge liquid injected into the formation of cracks, or discharge fluid reinjection into the formation of natural fractures and salt caverns below the fracture pressure.
Future drilling waste treatment method depends primarily on changes in the relevant state regulations. The second factor is the cost of processing in determining drilling effluent treatment. If a company or a service company could develop a treatment that can not only reduce costs but also protects the environment by new drilling waste disposal method, then the operator will adopt a new approach to the management of drilling waste in the future. The third factor is the legal responsibility and obligation of the oil and gas operators. Although the operator should process drilling waste under the existing legal provisions in a legal manner, they may face possibility to modify the relevant regulations. Therefore, the operator should take active measures to deal with the drilling waste with more stringent regulatory requirements in the future.
New formations for different drilling conditions are now in research. The new drilling fluids not only possesses with the appropriate characteristics, but also among the lower vegetation growth inhibition content containing harmful additives. The introduction of new and more environmentally friendly drilling fluid additive could instead of important components such as the use of limonite powder instead of barite mud weighting agent which can reduce the impact on the environment to great extent.