A review of treatment methods for oil-based drill cuttings

Globally, the operation of oil and gas exploration is increasing, which results in a large number of hazardous oil-based drill cuttings. These oil-based drill cuttings are bound to pose a serious threat to the environment and human health, so a series of oil-based drill cuttings disposal methods are urgently required. However, due to the complicated composition of oil-based drill cuttings and increasingly stringent emission policies, few methods that can fully handle oil-based drill cuttings which are generated under various complex conditions. Therefore, this paper illuminates different emissions policies for oil-based drill cuttings in various places. What's more, several treatment methods are comprehensively compared, and the development trend of treatment methods is discussed by combining the oil-based drill cuttings practical treatment examples in offshore and shale gas exploration.