During exploration and production drilling a so-called drilling mud is used. This drilling mud will normally contain very high quality oil for the purpose of lubricating the drill bit during the drilling operation. The drilling mud is referred to as an Oil Based Mud or simply OBM. During the drilling operation the OBM will be mixed with the mineral solids from the ground, and this mixture, referred to as oily drill cuttings, OBM cuttings or drill cuttings, will contain approximately 10 to 20% of base oil from the drilling mud, meaning that the OBM cuttings is defined as a hazardous waste in most jurisdictions.

In the early age of oil exploration in the North Sea, this waste was simply dumped to sea. Some years later it was recognized that such a method was not environmentally friendly. Today a lot of research is spent on finding solutions to how to clean up this old mess.

The same problem obviously arises when drilling takes place onshore if the waste is not properly taken care of. Leakages from oil waste pits may easily pollute the ground water. Something needs to be done with this waste before it ends up at the sea bottom or unprotected at an onshore site. It is better to be safe than sorry when natural resources like marine life and fresh water is at stake. It should be properly taken care of to avoid environmental damage.

There are various treatment options, like injecting it into a well, controlled landfill, incineration and bioremediation. With the increased focus both on pollution and on efficient use of natural resources, the global trends move towards separation of the components in the waste for useful purposes. The TCC^® fits well into this picture.