“Recycle the Gulf” is a comprehensive recycling program that recovers waste from offshore oil and gas operations and shore bases and provides support for the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC), New Iberia, La.
Several operators (Shell Exploration & Production Co., BP PLC, and BHP Billiton Ltd.) and drilling contractors (Noble Drilling US Inc. and Transocean Inc.) support the program, which reduces landfill volume and provides social benefits to local communities.
In 2006, the fourth full year of the program, these companies have recycled more than 500,000 lb of materials from gulf operations. The three operators together reclaimed about 100,000 lb of recyclables during January-October 2006. The two drilling contractors are recycling on 20 rigs and two shore bases and together reclaimed about 400,000 lb of recyclables January-November 2006.
History
The program began in 2002, spearheaded by Shell and Noble. Transocean and BP joined in 2003.
Shell runs the program on four tension leg platforms in the gulf: Auger, Brutus, Mars, and Ursa, which produced more than 40,000 lb of recyclables during January-October 2006. It has installed recycling equipment on the Cognac platform (Mississippi Canyon Block 194) and may also bring on the Ram Powell TLP (Viosca Knoll Block 956).
BP first implemented the program at two deepwater truss spars: at Horn Mountain field on MC Blocks 126/127 and Holstein field on Green Canyon 645. The company added two recycling points in mid-2006: the Atlantis production semisubmersible (GC 699) and Mad Dog truss spar (GC 782) as well as GlobalSantaFe Corp.’s Development Driller II semisub at yearend.
BP’s facilities produced more than 31,000 lb of recyclables in 2006, through September. In 2007, BP plans to begin the recycling program at the semisub producing from the largest field in the gulf-Thunder Horse (MC 776, 777, 778).
BHP started the program on GSF’s Development Driller I semisub when it came under contract in July, producing more than 27,000 lb of recyclables in only 5 months. BHP also began sorting and recycling on the GSF C.R. Luigs drillship in November 2006.
Transocean and Noble have implemented the program across their whole fleets. By yearend 2003, all of Transocean’s floating rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were participating. They produced 28,132 lb of recycled materials in January 2004. Transocean had 10 rigs (6 semisubs and 4 drillships) operating in the gulf as of December 2006. The company recovered nearly 250,000 lb of recyclables from its rigs and Amelia shore base during the first 11 months last year.
Noble joined the program in 2002 and is currently running the program on its entire gulf fleet of eight floating and two jack up drilling rigs as well as its Bayou Black shore base. Noble recovered more than 156,000 lb of recyclables last year. In 2005, the US Minerals Management Service recognized Tommy Travis at Noble for “outstanding initiative in organizing and implementing one of the first comprehensive recycling programs in the offshore industry.”
Recycling
The Recycle the Gulf program has reclaimed about 2 million lb of materials since its inception in 2002. It’s a complete recycling program that entails collecting recyclables at the source, removing them from the general waste stream, and sorting them into commodity categories (cans, plastics, paper, cardboard). Recyclables are compacted on the rigs and shipped to dock facilities. Tech Oil Products Inc., based in New Iberia, provides training, equipment, storage facilities, and a handling system (www.enviro-pak.net).
Bags of compacted recyclables are periodically delivered to Tech Oil Products. The company tracks recyclables from each rig so contributions can be reported via a web-accessible database. Green bags are used for recyclables to distinguish them from white bags used for general waste.
Benefits
Recycling reduces pollution, conserves natural resources, conserves energy, decreases the cost of disposing of waste in landfills, and creates jobs.
The Recycle the Gulf program is not only environmentally friendly, it also provides work and funds to the handicapped clients of ARC Unlimited. The recyclable commodities are donated to ARC of Iberia, which processes and resells the materials to a recycling plant.
Tamara Juckett, coordinator of Recycle the Gulf, said the program enables handicapped and disabled people to develop self-reliance by allowing them an employment opportunity that might otherwise be unavailable.
Recycling is only one element of ongoing environmental efforts by the companies involved. We hope to see more environmentally aware operations worldwide.
