Ukrniigas,
Ukraine
By its specificity the oil and gas
industry is an environmental hazard because of its being a source of different
waste products derived from the industry’s production during many of its
stages. It often creates a pollution problem owing to imperfect technological
processes and the utilization of various alkalis, acids catalysts, inhibitors,
odorants and other aggressive substances.
One of the pollution sources is
drilling enterprises. They are widely distributed at vast territories and
appear to be a serious hazard for the ecology of entire regions affecting the
«biosphere» as the Earth’s mantle where life is developed, and «noosphere» as a
contemporary stage of biosphere.
The notion of «noosphere» according
to V.I.Vernadsky «enables us to consider the historical development of mankind
as a continuation of biogeochemical history of biosphere’s living substance»
/1/. Noosphere is a new geological phenomenon on Earth that is responsible for
man becoming a great geological force which by thought and labor influences on
the radical environment changes. In this respect moral (ethical) approach to
rational detection, development and utilization of natural resources assumes a
new significance. In this respect efforts of Doctor Václav Nìmec and the
International Committee on geoethics, concerning the development of a new
scientific trend - science of virtuous relation to Earth and its resources -
geoethics, seem to be quite actual. According to I. Kant «ethics in ancient
times meant a study on morals in general (philosophy morals) which was also
considered as a study on debt...which...in its turn is divided into the study
on law... and a study on virtue (Ethica)». »The ability and firm intention to
offer resistance to powerful...enemy of moral views in us is virtue...Virtue
should not be determined and appraised as a practice and an acquired habit to
ethically good behavior. If virtue is not a result of the influence of
well-considered, firm and more pure principle propositions it is, as any other
mechanism of practical mind, unarmed... for guarding itself sufficiently
against changes caused by new temptations...»/2/.
We consider geoethics as a
comprehensive science with the goal to regulate life security processes on
Earth in general, and in all mutual relations with its bowels in particular
from the point of view of high moral.
In regard to moral approach to the
environment and mineral resources, in Ukraine conducted is a great volume of
researches on revealing pollution sources, gathering, treating and utilizing
waste products obtained, particularly, during the drilling of prospecting, exploratory
and development wells.
The national program «Oil and Gas of
Ukraine up to 2010» provides to increase general volumes of drilling by 74% and
to gain 1 million 45 thousand m in 2010. A 2.3 fold increase of the drilling
volume is planned. At the average depth of 3000 m this would amount to about
350 wells a year. In this respect a considerable enhancement of the technogeneous
load on the environment is expected.
Sources of chemical pollution at
well sites are sludge, washing fluids and agents of their treatment, weighting
agents. A great amount of sewage water contaminated by dispersed clay, crude,
lubricating materials, oils, chemical agents, salts, drilling cuttings and so
on is accumulated in ground pits. The sewage water in the pits practically is
not treated, only settled. Its disposal to opened ponds causes contamination of
the latter.
Parallels with the pollution of opened ponds contaminated are ground
waters. Taking into account that a settling pit is a trench measuring 45x30 m
and 3m in depth, the liquid content with all dissolved components are
infiltrated. When the pit is empty it is filled up with ground and a peculiar
sepulchre is formed with contaminating matters. At the same time world practice
offers burial of industry and domestic waste by insulating the reservoirs with
waste from water-bearing horizons of ground waters by polymer coatings /Recycling Co, USA/. An approach of such kind
in solving a concrete problem is based not on an economic advantage at any
price but is inspired by care of the welfare both of the present and future
generations and greatly corresponds to high moral principles, virtuous, ethical
relation to the environment/
One of the most typical environment
pollutants linked with oil and gas well drilling are oil products which are
constituents of drilling mud, formation water and rocks of oil and gas-bearing
horizons. Work /3/ presents the results of researches conducted
by Ukrainian scientists who determined that drilling sludge contains oil
products in lubricant, film, drop and accumulation forms. Drilling mud and
drilling wastewater contain oil films, emulsions. The content of oil products
in soils within the humus bed is 2-3 times more than the background
concentrations. Migrating at great distances from the well they are accumulated
on the surface of humus bed particles (resin, asphaltene, cycling compounds) of
lower horizons (alkanes). The latter are not easy assimilated by microorganisms
and for a long time are preserved at
anaerobic conditions. During the last ten years the pollution of
subsurface water horizons has sharply increased when drilling oil and gas wells
by industry sewage water containing synthetic surfactants utilized for washing
fluid treatment, by oil and oil products, heavy metals, chlorine organic
compounds and radioactive substances. Danger of subsurface water contamination
is conditioned by the possibility of industry sewage water and pollutants
getting into the water-bearing horizons.
Such situations occur quite often
during oil and gas well drilling and cementing when drilling mud penetrates
into the beds and washing fluids are absorbed during cross-flows of liquid
hydrocarbons and highly mineralized water to the upper horizons. Emergency
blowouts and uncontrolled flowing of oil, gas, gas condensate and mineralized water
appear to be a serious hazard. Such accidents cause the penetration of drilling
mud, drill cuttings, oil, fuel and lubricating materials, chemical agents,
weighting agents and other contaminating substances into surface ponds. Taking
into account that drilling sites are widely spread and are located at great
distances from each other a centralized approach for utilizing deleterious
wastes after drilling is hampered. In this respect, many specialists consider
actual the construction of small mobile units for in-situ liquid waste
treatment /4/. For this purpose the Ukrainian scientists have worked out a
technological process, a technical project and a test specimen of a mobile unit
for treating liquid drilling waste by applying methods of coagulation,
gravitation settling and centrifugal dehydration /4/. Though this development
assists in solving the problem partially, it is from the point of view of
morals an example of ethical relation to the environment.
Another perspective trend in
decreasing the technogenous impact on the environment with simultaneous
improvement of the economical indices is the widespread utilization of industry
waste materials when producing drilling mud. Thus, the specialists of the JSC
«Ukrneft» and Ivano-Frankivsk Central Research Laboratory have developed
small-phase oil-emulsion drilling mud on the basis of vegetable oil production
products that can be used for stripping oil-bearing beds with abnormally low
formation pressure /5/. The State University of Chernovtsy completed the
researches on developing new oil-well cement on the basis of materials of
technogenous origin. As a result, new oil-well cement solutions characterized
by high sedimentation resistance, low water loss and a wide range of density
are recommended. The cement stone from these solutions is of high strength,
permanent, corrosion resistant in aggressive media, low permeable and high
adhesive with the casing string. This gives the possibility of using these
oil-well cements at different mining-geological conditions and simultaneously
to lower the technogenous impact on the environment /5/.
Another trend of utilizing industry
waste products is their use in producing drilling mud with definite features.
Thus, the Ivano-Frankivsk University of oil and gas has conducted
investigations on replacing traditional chemical agents to achieve the
necessary reological parameters by such waste as: ashslag, sludge of water
treatment and others. The results have shown that these additives are efficient
in weighting the drilling mud, and the problem of utilizing technogeneous waste
is solved /6/.
It should be noted that the
utilization of waste of different origin is one of the complicated problems of
mankind. Not more than 5% of the total volume of waste in the world is
neutralized and processed. We consider the utilization of one industry waste in
technological processes of other industries to be an im portant geoethical
task.
An example of complex approach to
the production of ecologically safety drilling mud is the elaboration of the
Central Scientific Research Laboratory of the JSC «Ukrneft» where formulations
of drilling mud on the basis of biopolymers were developed and field-tested.
They are untoxic, unbiodestructural and can be used at different well drilling
conditions.
Besides, special liquids on the
basis of maize extract - byproduct of the food industry, were developed and are
used during well overhaul /7/.
When drilling prospecting,
exploratory and development wells, emergency blowouts and uncontrolled flowing
of oil, gas gas-condensate and mineralized water takes place. As a result, the
pollution of great territories, surface ponds and subsurface water is possible.
In this connection enterprises of Ukraine create new drilling units equipped
with high efficient blowout preventer equipment of home production / OJSC,
Koral, State Research Institute of Safety Precautions and so on/.These units
will be equipped with automatic control systems, communication and signaling
facilities providing measurement, indication and recording of 27 parameters of
the drilling process, fulfillment of explosion-fire-proof requirements /8/.
The given above show that most of
the specialists of the oil and gas complex of Ukraine understand the
interrelation of the processes taking place on Earth both of technogeneous and
natural character, foresee the consequences for the present and future
generations. Despite of the hard economical situation conducted is a great
volume of researches and practical work on gathering, treating and utilizing
industry waste products obtain, particularly during deep well drilling, on
methods of re-cultivation, burial of field water, creation of closed production
cycles etc. Thus, the question is about virtuous, ethical relation to the
solution of economic problems.
I would like to conclude by
Aristotle remark «virtue is the middle of two evils: redundancy and deficiency»
/9/ and Goratsy’s remark «measure is needed for all and everything, finally
there are limits nearer and further of which there cannot be good on Earth»
/10/.
1. V.I.Vernadsky - Beginning and eternity of life. Moscow,
Sov.Russia, 1989, 700p.
2. I.Kant - Works in six volumes, v.1, p. 435, M. I963.
3. V.V.Karabin - «Pytania rozvytku gaz. prom. Ukrainy», issue XXVI,
Kharkiv, 1998.
4. I.V.Plakhetko and oth. - Unit for treating rare drilling
cuttings. «Nafta i gaz Ukrainy», v.2, Iv.-Frankivsk, 2000, p.9-11.
5. Y.S.Kotskulich - Trends of developing the technique and
technologies of oil and gas well drilling in Ukraine. «Nafta i gaz Ukrainy», v.2, Frankivsk, 2000, p.11.
6. L.I.Chelyadin, V.L.Chelyadin - Researches of the impact of
mineral and technogenous additives on drilling mud endices and ecology. «Nafta
i gaz Ukrainy», Iv.-Frankivsk,vol.3, 2000, p.324-326.
7. A.M.Mulenko - Construction of a high efficient and ecologically
safety drilling rig. «Nafta i gaz Ukrainy», v.2, 2000, p.315-316.
8. A.M.Andrusyak - Concerning ecologically safety drilling muds.
«Nafta i gaz Ukrainy», Poltava, 1998,
p.312.
9. Ethics of Aristotle, SP, 1908, p.31.
10. Goratsy - Complete works, M.-L., Academia, 1936, p.210.