Environmentally Friendly Drilling SystemsIndustry has made great strides in protecting the environment while increasing oil and natural gas production in the U.S. Producers, however, still face daunting challenges.
The Environmentally Friendly Drilling (EFD) program addresses:
- New low-impact technologies that reduce the footprint of drilling activities
- Light weight drilling rigs with reduced emission engine packages
- On-site waste management
- Site access
- Systems to fit the needs of specific development sites and provides stewardship of the environment
- Education
The objective is to identify, develop and test innovative technologies that reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas activities in environmentally sensitive areas should these areas be opened up for development.
The program continues to add participants from environmental organizations, academia, state and federal agencies, government laboratories, and industry. Currently over 100 organizations support this effort including financial assistance.
The partnership identifies new technologies and transfers them to areas that must incorporate new practices to address environmental concerns. Regional partners optimize technologies to fit the needs of their locale. Partners routinely come together to discuss progress with the sponsors/advisors.
Technology Transfer activities include the human dimension of technology incorporation in societal areas. Educating and informing is directed toward the industry, regulators and the public. The outcome of the program is expected to result in greater access, reasonable regulatory controls, lower development cost and reduction of the environmental footprint associated with operations. The program will increase the public’s and regulatory agencies’ acceptance to operate in environmentally sensitive areas, create jobs and add significant reserves to the U.S.
To inform the public of the industry’s environmental advancements in technology, the program is developing an EFD Scorecard to measure performance concerning environmental tradeoffs. A computer based model to select complementary environmentally friendly technologies will assist industry in deciding the most appropriate technologies to be applied.
The EFD program includes a University/National Laboratories Alliance to fund and transfer critical new technologies that accelerates development of domestic reserves in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The research is aimed specifically at technologies that can be used in environmentally sensitive areas that are currently off limits to drilling and production.
Further information about the program may be found at www.efdsystems.com