 Keeping America on the Go—Naturally
Oil and natural gas represent the resources that literally make America go. At the same time, our use of vital natural resources poses environmental challenges. Emissions from gasoline-fueled engines make their way into the air. Abandoned oil wells can leak pollutants into both the land and water. If not disposed of properly, used motor oil can also contaminate the soil and groundwater.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 185 million gallons of used motor oil are improperly disposed of by consumers each year—dumped on the ground, tossed in the trash, or poured down the drain. In fact, improperly dumped motor oil releases about 25 times more oil into the environment than spills from all modes of oil transportation combined—tankers, pipelines, barges, rail, and trucks.1
The oil and natural gas industry puts major effort into the protection of the natural environment, and the story of how the industry deals with these challenges is one of hard work and great success. For example, although the actions of individuals are beyond the control of the oil and natural gas industry, API members sponsor a number of public awareness and recycling campaigns to combat improper disposal of motor oil by consumers. API has created a template for model legislation, which is designed to help cities and towns set up programs for used oil drop-offs, curbside collection, and public education about the benefits of recycling.
Oil Recycling: A Slick Enterprise
The recycling of paper, plastics, glass, and aluminum has become commonplace in America. But we really recycle much more, including a large portion of the 1.1 billion gallons of motor oil sold annually in the U.S.
Recycled motor oil can be used in a variety of ways. These include:
- Re-refining for use in a new generation of motor oil or as fuel oils;
- Reprocessing for application in asphalt plants, industrial boilers, utility boilers, steel mills, and other facilities; and
- For specially designed space heaters used in garage bays and municipal garages.
Testing used motor oil for contamination from other motor fluids is essential in the userd motor oil recycling process.
Collection of used motor oil is handled by oil and natural gas companies, quick lubes, and independent dealers who operate more than 12,000 drop-off centers in the U.S. Many more locations are run by municipal and county agencies. In addition, many states have adopted legislation to establish and maintain oil recycling programs. Some states even provide curb-side pickup of used motor oil for recycling purposes. To find out more about the benefits of recycling used motor oil and efforts by the oil industry to provide convenient locations where used oil can be collected for recycling, visit http://www.recycleoil.org/. For information on the nearest oil recycling drop-off location, go directly to http://www.earth911.org/.
 With Site Restoration, It’s Back to the Future
Since 1859, more than 2.5 million oil and gas wells have been plugged and abandoned in the United States. Those wells that remain unplugged or orphaned invariably date back to the industry’s early years, when operators took only basic steps to restore well sites that had been played out. These rudimentary practices often left landowners dissatisfied, which led to state governments’ involvement and regulations.
Today, oil companies work to restore closed onshore wells in cooperation with state officials and land owners. It’s a daunting task, considering that 17,000 onshore wells close every year after completing their average 15-to-30-year life span. Restoration at these sites involves removing all machinery and other equipment, then plugging the well casing and well bore with cement to protect groundwater supplies. As a final step, the surrounding area is restored as closely as possible to its original state to prevent potential environmental or public health risks. The goal in restoration is that once the well is gone, there’s no evidence to indicate that it was ever there in the first place.
An alternative to the return of a well site to its previous condition involves anticipating the site’s future use and preparing accordingly, whether this use involves agricultural, wildlife habitat, industrial, residential, or commercial uses. Current strategies include maximizing reuse of equipment and materials that might be appropriate for these other applications.
Rather than employing a “one-size-fits-all” approach to the restoration of oil and gas well sites, industry is adopting flexible Risk-Based Corrective Action processes to ensure efficient clean-ups. New tools developed in a joint project of the American Petroleum Institute and the Gas Technology Institute help operators undertake risk-based planning. In this approach, risks to human health and ecology are weighed and actions taken that are appropriate to a specific site—with resources focused first on sites presenting the greatest potential risk.
Closure of offshore oil and gas production facilities has begun only recently, so the legacy of past practices is not an issue here as it is with land-based sites. Offshore installations must be decommissioned and removed in a complex legal and technical process that ensures the protection of the marine environment. Such a process requires years of planning and preparation. At the same time, the careful removal of closed platforms fits with the oil and gas industry’s commitment to the stewardship of natural habitats in the Gulf of Mexico.
Don’t Scrap the Platform; Create New Worlds!
The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) requires removal of all platforms in Outer Continental Shelf waters within one year of production shutdown. Currently, platform removals in the Gulf of Mexico average over 100 per year. For smaller structures located in shallow waters, platforms are disconnected from all equipment 15 feet below the seabed floor, and the deck and jacket are towed to shore for refurbishing or collection as scrap. The location of these platforms really offers no other alternative.
However, in water deeper than 100 feet, and in more remote locations, a rigs-to-reefs approach can prove immensely beneficial for oil and natural gas companies, marine life, and a surprise third partner—the tourism industry. In this approach, all waste materials and useful equipment are removed from the production platform. The platform is then toppled onsite or cut and towed to a new site and allowed to rest on the sea floor. Its hard surfaces attract invertebrates such as barnacles, corals, sponges, and clams. Within a year, the submerged superstructure is literally covered with marine life, which, in turn, attracts fish like snapper, grouper, mackerel, tuna, and billfish. A typical jacket (the underwater support structure of an offshore platform) converted to an artificial reef provides 2 to 3 acres of habitat for thousands of underwater species and supports 20 to 50 times more fish than the flat, smooth floor of the the Gulf of Mexico.2
All rigs-to-reefs plans must comply with the artificial reef permitting requirements of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the criteria of the National Artificial Reef Plan established in 1986 under the authority of the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service within the U.S. Department of Commerce.3
The rigs-to-reefs approach benefits operators by significantly reducing the effort and costs associated with rig removal. It benefits marine life by providing elaborate new habitats, and preserving existing habitats developed during the productive life of the platform. It benefits the tourism industry in Texas and other Gulf states by creating rich new fishing lanes and interesting dive sites.
Today, artificial reefs have been created around the world using retired oil platforms, including more than 120 in the Gulf of Mexico. The availability, stability, and durability of these structures have helped them to become the largest and most successful artificial reefs in the world, and one of the oil and gas industry’s most successful environmental stories.
1 U.S. Oil Pipeline Industry's Safety Performance, AOPL and API Pipeline Committee, Allegro Energy Group, March 2002, p.1
2 http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/rigs-to-reefs/artificial-reefs.html
3 http://www.gsmfc.org/wba_r.html
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