Sharing our world with the oil industry.

The drilling industry has become a growing crisis for our environment in various ways.  It has been a major factor in the pollution of our soils after use.  Unfortunately, the oil industry produces some of the most important commodities for our current ways of living.  The excavation and production of these resources provides multiple benefits such as gasoline for vehicles, air conditioning, electricity, and plastic products.  It has also provided multiple jobs for the working class and our economists.  Recent studies by a group of researchers from China University of Petroleum and CNPC Research Institute of Safety & Environment Technology, discovered that drilling caused a soil contamination in China . The contamination contained polymer sulfonate, and oil based drilling fluids which caused a poor degradation and high levels of toxicity present even after waste drilling fluids were processed through secondary treatments.  The researchers therefore experimented and produced a Green Throwing Drilling Fluid to be added to the oil waste products.  The Green Throwing Drilling Fluid is an additive and is non-toxic, biodegradable and reservoir protective. This fluid was used in two drilling sites and performed a green performance evaluation, levels of chemical toxicity, biological toxicity and biodegradability after application.  After applying Green liquid and oil waste products onto soil for 60 days a visible improvement to soils were noticeable with the growth of herbaceous plants.  The soil was tested and results showed a level of low chemical toxicity contents of heavy metals Cd, Hg, Pd, Cr and As.  Levels of organic soil matter and major fertility indexes Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium had increased.  The core permeability recovery also increased by 80%.  This new environmental friendly green additive to China's oil industry was an effective control.  It has increased levels of moisture and restored organic matter.  Perhaps the U.S. will implement this new additive to the waste contents of the oil industry and seize contaminations.


Xie, S.X., Jiang, G.C., Chen, M., Deng, H. and Xu, Y. 2012. Study and application of Green Throwing Drilling Fluid (China). Petroleum.Sci.Technol.30:443-452.