Services:

BP Remediation Management North Slope Assessment and Remediation

Issue:

British Petroleum Exploration (Alaska), Inc. (BPXA) operates the Prudhoe Bay oilfield. On its behalf, BP Remediation Management (RM) manages assessment and remediation of contaminated sites and inactive production/exploration reserve pits on the North Slope of Alaska. Tens of thousands of cubic yards of drilling waste and gravel are removed from these sites annually, with large portions of it managed by grinding and underground injection. Smaller portions and other contaminated sites are remediated by landfarming and other innovative technologies. Efficient solutions are important, while protecting the environment and meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements.

Solution:

OASIS, working with BP RM and the BPXA North Slope operations team, developed a methodology for sampling inactive production reserve pits under difficult winter conditions. This new approach enables closure of the pits in one season of remediation (removal of drilling waste) rather than two as historically completed, significantly reducing cleanup costs. At exploration sites, detailed assessments are performed typically a year prior to initiating reserve pit and pad removal, so that efficient segregation can be planned and gravel/waste volumes estimated.

Results:

BPXA is obligated to close out North Slope sites according to a Charter Agreement developed with regulator agencies. BPXA, with RM oversight, is on track to achieve timely remediation of production reserve pits, as well as inactive exploration sites including gravel pads, reserve pits and flare pits. OASIS is supporting this achievement by working closely with construction crews during the winter months, guiding removal of drilling waste and inactive gravel pads. OASIS is responsible for developing plans and reports to support RM’s North Slope projects, performing monitoring and contaminated site assessments as required. Landfarming techniques continue to be optimized so that tens of thousands of yards of contaminated gravel can be remediated during the summer months.

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