RN-Vankor obtains a patent on environmentally friendly technology for recycling drill cuttings into soil concrete
RN-Vankor, an enterprise of Rosneft oil and gas production complex, obtained a patent on developing a new environmentally friendly technology for recycling drill cuttings into soil concrete construction material at the Vostok Oil project.
As part of the Rosneft 2030 Strategy, the Company and its subsidiaries devote special attention to environmental protection in the course of their production activities. Green technologies are integrated into oilfield development at the northern Vostok Oil project.
In laboratory conditions, environmental researchers of RN-Vankor figured out an original mixture with unique components and domestically produced additives. The construction material produced - soil concrete - has passed the relevant tests that confirmed its high environmental impact. Environmental friendliness of soil concrete is provided by sorption and neutralisation of drill cuttings in the structure of the new construction material that prevents slurry components from getting into the environment.
A total of 220,000 tonnes of drill cuttings has been recycled into soil concrete at Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye and Lodochnoye fields. Soil concrete is used for recultivation of mud pits and can also be used in road construction as a substitute for natural soil and various recultivation materials.
The patent for the soil concrete technology has become the second certificate of authorship obtained by the enterprise's environmental researchers for innovations in the field of recycling drilling waste. In 2020 RN-Vankor patented an innovative project for recycling drilling waste into man-made soil, a highly environmentally friendly construction material. After the introduction of the technology at Vankorskoye, Suzunskoye and Tagulskoye fields in 2020, more than 497,000 tonnes of drill cuttings has been recycled into man-made soil.
The principles behind production of soil concrete and man-made soil are similar and based on mixing various components with drill cuttings, but the composition of absorbent materials is different.
All environment-oriented innovations are successfully implemented at the Vankor group of fields and are intended for use at the new Taymyr assets of the Vostok Oil project.
Note for Editors:
Vostok Oil is the largest project not just of Russian, but of global economy, that is being implemented in the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory. Resource base of the project is more than 6.5 billion tonnes of premium low-sulfur oil. RN-Vankor, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, is the operator of the project.
Vostok Oil project is comprised by 52 license areas located in the north of Krasnoyarsk Territory and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, which accommodate 13 oil and gas fields, including the Vankor (Vankorskoye, Suzunskoye, Tagulskoye and Lodochnoye fields) and Payakh clusters. Since 2009, five fields have been discovered in Taimyr: Baikalovskoye, Gorchinskoye, Ichemminskoye, Novovogennoye and, in December 2020, the unique Zapadno-Irkinskoye field.
Rosneft
Information Division
October 10, 2023