Providence Resources Plc. has awarded TWMA with the contract for the handling and treatment of drill cuttings from the GSF Arctic III rig in the Celtic sea.
It is the second contract for TWMA in the region and will involve a skip-and-ship operation to transport the cuttings from the Barryroe well offshore Cork in Southern Ireland to TWMA’s Peterhead base for processing.
Dave Simpson, business development manager – UK, TWMA said: “As there is no cuttings processing facility in Ireland we have been contracted to provide our skip-and-ship operation to transport the drilling waste to the UK for treatment.
“We have worked offshore Ireland previously and understand the procedure, it is not a straightforward process for Irish waters and we are able to use our experience. Our team supported the application for the Trans Frontier Shipment (TFS) licence which allows us to transport drilling waste from one country to another, in this case in line with legislation set down by the Irish authorities and the Scottish Environmental and Protection Agency (SEPA).
“Being involved from the outset of this project means that we are already making considerable savings for the operator and will be able to reuse and recycle all of the cuttings from this well.
“We will provide our complete cuttings handling services on board the Glomar Arctic III, utilising cuttings bins and a range of CCDS equipment to ensure full environmental compliance during the drilling operations. Activity is forecast to pick up in 2012 and we are excited by the prospects there,” he continued.
TWMA’s first contract in Irish waters was for a similar skip and ship operation on board the Ocean Guardian semi-submersible rig. During this project the company gained invaluable experience for future work in this region.
In total, 478 tonnes of drill cuttings were contained during this first project and then transported to the UK for processing at our Peterhead facility in order to recover the constituent material.
[mappress] Offshore Energy Today Staff, January 31, 2012;