Environmental Drilling Project

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The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), Texas A&M University, and companies from the O&G industry formed a new research program. Its goal was to identify and develop Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems (EFD) incorporating current and new drilling sensitive or off-limits areas including federal lands in the Western U.S. and the wetlands and marshes of the Gulf Coast. Its goal is to incorporate current and emerging technologies into a clean drilling system with no or very limited environmental impact.

The Industry Sponsored Programs (GPRI Projects)
Sponsors of the EFD program provide financial and engineering support to the HARC /A&M EFD research program. Industry sponsors help to guide the research projects and advise the EFD program managers on the development of the new technologies to incorporate into the field EFD drilling system. Sponsors also participate in and benefit from on-going GPRI research programs as part of the 2006 2008 A&M/HARC program funded by DOE and GPRI members and adjunct members. GPRI research programs have been created in five areas:

1. Modular Platform-Rig Design Compatibility Studies for Well Sites
2. Low Impact Access to Well Sites
3. Rig Site Waste Management: Reserve Pit/Mud Pit Cleanup
4. Rig Power Efficiency Studies
5. Environmental Issues and Public Acceptance Project

Project Overview

• Project Summary  (69KB doc file)
• Brochure  (278KB pdf file)
• Overview of EFD Project  (1MB pdf file)
• Environmental Issues for Compliance 
• Meeting Information
• Sponsoring Organizations

Project Management Information

• Industry Advisory Board
• Project Schedule (Gantt Chart)
• Project Task Working Groups
• Platform/Drilling TWG
• Well Site Access TWG (including Disappearing Roads Competition)
• Waste Management TWG
• Environmental TWG
• Technology Acceptance & Assimilation TWG

• Research Management Plan  (80KB pdf file)

Current Projects

• Mud Pit-Reserve Pit Cleanup: Desalination to Provide Fresh Water for Rig Operations
• Rig Power Efficiency Study: Energy and Emissions
• Public Acceptance of Technology to Lower Impact of O&G Operations
• Public Acceptance of Technology to Lower Impact of O&G Operations - Access to Remote Areas
• Drilling Rig Power Efficiency Study: Rugged, High Energy Storage for Demand Smoothing

For Further Information, contact:

Mr. Tom Williams - 281 276 6713
Mr. David Burnett - 979 845 2274