ESSENTIAL CONTROL TO ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY: SPOTLIGHT ON DRILLING PROCESSES IN LEBANON

At present, environmental legislation bounds the drilling operators in drilling wastes removal. The rapid increasing sensitivity of drilling waste management forced many countries to develop environmental guidelines for their drilling operations. This research studies some sorts of waste produced during upstream petroleum activities, particularly while drilling. After that, many hazards and impacts on the environment are addressed, as well as their principal treatment techniques. This paper gives a modest and theoretical vision over the present environmental standard and waste management design, realized at a universal scale. Studies show that performance fluid management and total fluid management are highly recommended in drilling waste management, taken into consideration the reduction, reuse, recycle, recover, and finally disposal of waste. Then, the technologies that could be suitable for the Lebanese drilling fields would be addressed. Experience proves that techniques and standards of drilling waste management depend highly on climate and sources soil. This research highlights foreign, specialized and suitable regulations for the Lebanese petroleum industry and advises to apply strict punishments that force companies to consider environmental issues. This may assist companies and individual approaches toward coming drilling operations in Lebanon with a concern for the environment.