Offshore oil and gas activities are performed under strict environmental guidelines. For 20 years Battelle has worked with the industry and regulatory agencies in the United States and abroad to develop, implement, and validate regulations designed to ensure that offshore oil and gas resources are exploited without harming the marine environment.

In the 1980s, Battelle performed the Georges Bank Monitoring Program for the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS). The study showed that oil development on Georges Bank could proceed without damaging commercial fisheries. Battelle performed similar studies off southern and central California and off the north coast of Alaska.

The Gulf of Mexico is the epicenter of offshore oil and gas development in U.S. waters. Battelle has worked in the Gulf for several years with the MMS, Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the oil industry to resolve multiple environmental issues, such as the impacts of drilling mud and produced water discharges.

The oil and gas from a well often contains water from the fossil fuel reservoir. This water is separated from the fuels, treated to remove oil, and discharged to the ocean. EPA banned these discharges to shallow coastal waters due to localized impacts on biological communities. Battelle studies performed for the American Petroleum Institute and DOE showed that when these discharges stop, local ecosystems recover rapidly.

Battelle participated in a project for the Gulf of Mexico Offshore Operators Committee to determine if marine animals near platforms in offshore waters are tainted with chemicals from produced water. The study showed that oysters and fish do not accumulate enough contaminants from the discharges to represent a health risk to themselves or to platform personnel. EPA used these results to determine that bioaccumulation monitoring was not required around platforms in deep offshore waters of the Gulf. Battelle is collaborating with the Norwegian oil industry to perform a similar study in the North Sea.

Battelle also is working with the oil industry and MMS to better understand the impacts of oil development in deep water (> 1000 feet) in the Gulf. Battelle is participating in two projects to determine if synthetic drilling mud cuttings (generated during well drilling) are safe to discharge to the ocean. So far the results of these studies agree with a scientific review performed by Battelle for MMS that synthetic drilling mud cuttings produce localized effects and the deep water ecosystem recovers rapidly. Platform personnel now use a toxicity test developed and validated by EPA and Battelle to ensure that toxic drilling muds are not discharged from platforms.

As a member of a scientific alliance with the Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Battelle is helping the national oil company of Mexico (PEMEX) assess its activities in the Gulf of Mexico. These studies will help PEMEX identify environmental problems at its offshore production and coastal support facilities and develop strategies for environmental restoration and protection.

Oil companies in the Far East have also turned to Battelle for assistance. Battelle identified high concentrations of mercury in produced water from Unocal Thailand’s platforms. The oil company has now developed the technology to remove the mercury, making the water safe for discharge. Battelle assisted Maxus Indonesia with evaluating the biological impacts of the world’s largest volume of produced water discharges.

Battelle’s expertise gained over the last 20 years will help the offshore oil industry overcome the many environmental challenges that lie ahead.

For more information, contact Dr. Jerry Neff at (781) 952-5229, neffjm@battelle.org.