Waste Collection

The most commonly generated types of E&P waste include produced water, oil- and water-base drilling fluids, cuttings, workover and completion fluids, and production wastes.

USLL receives these wastes at its transfer facilities in Cameron, Fourchon, Berwick/Morgan City, Intracoastal City and Venice in Louisiana; and at its facility in Galveston, Texas. USLL transfer facilities in Louisiana are permitted by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The U.S. Coast Guard also regulates the Louisiana transfer facilities, as well as the USLL Galveston facility.

USLL offers one-stop disposal, cleaning services and washout bays at each of its transfer locations and treatment facilities.

USLL can also receive waste at all six of its treatment facilities.

Land Treatment Process

With four treatment facilities in Louisiana, including three along the Intracoastal Canal, and two in Texas, USLL has strategically situated oilfield waste processing facilities in or near all the major oil- and gas-producing areas along the Gulf Coast and South Texas.

Loads are received, sampled and tested per regulation at Bateman Island, Bourg, Elm Grove and Mermentau in Louisiana, and Rincon and Zapata in Texas. The company also treats waste transported from Mexico’s growing oil and gas industry.

USLL uses land treatment and deep well injection in Louisiana, and disposal in salt caverns and land filling in Texas as the primary waste management processes for E&P waste.

The land treatment process allows the soil’s microbes to process waste in situ—a form of bioremediation. The Argonne National Laboratory considers the process a form of both treatment and disposal. Land treatment has been used by the E&P industry for years as a safe, environmentally sound, low-cost waste management practice. USLL treatment facilities are permitted and approved by state regulatory agencies.

Collection At USLL land treatment facilities, E&P wastes are placed in cells and spread in a layer 12 to 24 in. thick.

Settlement/skimming Incoming E&P wastes contain a high volume of liquids. First, the waste is allowed to settle and naturally release the hydrocarbons. Next, the oil is skimmed from the water surface. Then, the water is pumped to the saltwater injection system.

Treatment Once the oil is skimmed, the process of soil washing begins to remove the soluble salts. Additional water (including rainwater) is typically added as part of the desalination process to reduce the soluble salt content. The soluble salt and hydrocarbon levels are monitored frequently by independent lab tests, and treatment is considered complete only after approval by regulatory agencies.

Cell reuse After treatment, the waste solids are removed to a stockpile and the cell may be used for another waste application and treatment cycle. In Texas, the clean materials are landfilled in double-lined cells.

Reuse The stockpile is transformed over time as grass and brush take over. Wildlife make use of the habitat, and the stockpile materials can be recycled into road base or levee fill. The operator’s liability is minimized when E&P waste is transformed into reuse products.

Learn about the myths of land treatment versus the reality.

R3 Treatment

USLL has introduced new and innovative R3 treatment technologies to reduce, reuse and recycle E&P waste. R3 technologies and programs include

• new patent-pending water segregation processes and active evaporation technologies to improve land treatment efficiency and the use of land and water resources
• the conversion of E&P waste to beneficial and environmentally friendly road base and levee fill reuse material to help minimize E&P operator liability
• disposal options to two salt cavern facilities in Texas and a new location at Bully Camp, Louisiana, strategically located just north of Fourchon.

R3 technologies and programs enhance USLL’s unmatched operational efficiency and its extensive network of transfer stations and treatment facilities throughout Louisiana and Texas. An exclusive lease to the land and existing subsurface salt caverns provides E&P operators with unmatched flexibility in southern Louisiana, the lowest transportation costs and highest barge utilization in the Gulf Coast.

Contact USLL for more information on how transforming E&P waste into new reuse products is minimizing operator liability.

Service Capabilities

Cost-effective facilities and technology only go so far in the oil and gas industry. Superior service is what makes the difference, and USLL has the tools to ensure that its service is flexible and informativve enough to meet the needs of every E&P client.

Our customers’ needs are considered in every step of the process—authorization of work orders, invoicing, simplified price structure and timely feedback—from planning to execution.

Regulations of oilfield waste disposal will no doubt continue to become more stringent, and E&P companies are ever more aware of the need to deal with waste responsibly and legally in order to be good stewards of the environment. USLL has the resources to meet or exceed all governmental regulations and to take care of our environment through professional management of E&P waste.

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