| Rapid industrialization and urbanization has spurred the | | | | regarding oil field waste disposal in addition to |
| demand for oil globally. As a result, almost 40,000 | | | | providing services to manage them. Waste Handling |
| oil-fields have come into existence globally. An oil field | | | | Procedures, Acceptable wastes and unaccepted |
| is a region with numerous oil wells bored. Oil | | | | wastes; every classification of oil field byproducts and |
| extracted from numerous oil wells is refined further | | | | how to manage them must be with every enterprise |
| to obtain various petrochemical products. The area | | | | before they venture into working with this mineral |
| over which these oil wells extend may be several | | | | resource. This prevents mishandling of harmful and |
| hundred kilometers. | | | | sometimes even lethal by products from oil fields, |
| Some exploratory wells are also situated along the | | | | thus ensuring a safer and vastly more sustainable |
| boundary line of such oil-fields, through which pipelines | | | | industry model. |
| may pass in order to transport the extracted oil to | | | | Help at Hand |
| far locations and for providing additional facilities like | | | | Several government and private agencies worldwide |
| oil field waste disposal. Though oil or crude oil is a | | | | help the smaller ventures deal with their waste |
| naturally occurring hydrocarbon compound, its refining | | | | disposal needs. These typically provide trucking |
| process is very similar to any other industrial process. | | | | services and facilities to set up landfills or composting |
| Oil-Fields: An Overview | | | | sites. While they do charge a fee, it is a small price to |
| Oil-field is not just a collection of oil wells; it is a small | | | | pay when it comes to the health of Mother Nature. |
| habitat, a city in itself. All the byproducts produced | | | | Oilfields often are responsible for several harmful |
| during refining process are not useful. A typical | | | | incidences of Crude Oil Spills, Salt water Spills, Invert |
| practice has been to dump the waste products to | | | | Drilling Mud, Fresh Water drilling mud, Hydrocarbon |
| some far off land fill, a practice that is | | | | Impacted soils and Saltwater impacted soils due to |
| environmentally hazardous. This necessitates oil field | | | | negligence and improper handling of the wastes. Oil |
| waste disposal programs and procedures. | | | | field waste disposal is a sensitive issue and needs to |
| Informational efforts educated businesses about oil | | | | be treated with enough regard and concern. |
| fields, waste products generated and their types. | | | | Special trained professionals should be hired who |
| Every oil reserve has several layers of naturally | | | | know exactly what to do with the different types of |
| occurring water and hydrocarbons. Its segregation | | | | wastes generated. If proper planning is done the |
| requires large amounts of seawater to be poured in | | | | wastes may even prove to be of value since many |
| so as to effectively separate them. This | | | | different fertilizers and other such chemicals can be |
| contaminates underground water. This is just one | | | | synthesized from them. Sustainable development of |
| problem besides others like refinery waste | | | | our oil fields is necessary both to ensure our life on |
| management, cleaning the oil-tanks and response in | | | | earth, and also to make sure that our planet is not |
| the event of a spill. | | | | impacted by its ill effects. |
| These initiatives primarily aim to raise awareness | | | | |