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Costs for Disposal of NOW and NORM
Overview
- Some NOW and NORM wastes are disposed of onsite but a large
volume of waste is sent to offsite commercial disposal facilities
- There are many alternatives for disposing of NOW but relatively
few for disposing of NORM wastes
- Offsite disposal costs vary significantly for NOW and NORM
- Cavern disposal costs for NOW are comparable to or less expensive
than the costs associated with other types of offsite disposal
- Cavern disposal costs for NORM should be cost-competitive
Oil Field Wastes Sent to Offsite Commercial Disposal Facilities
| Type of Waste |
% Disposed Offsite |
Vol. Disposed Offsite |
| Drilling Wastes |
28% |
102 million bbl |
| Produced Water |
<2% |
<400 million bbl |
| Associated Wastes |
52% |
6 million bbl |
Source: American Petroleum
Institute |
| NORM |
most |
? |
Source: Argonne National
Laboratory |
Location of Commercial NORM Disposal Companies as of 1998
 |
Several disposal companies
come to offshore
platforms and perform onsite injection |
1997 Disposal Costs for Oily and Solid NOW
| Method |
$/bbl |
$/yd |
$/ton |
| Landspread |
5.50 – 57 |
14 – 40 |
20 – 95 |
| Landfill/pit |
0.50 – 36 |
6.50 – 37.50 |
17 – 150 |
| Evaporation |
2.50 – 2.75 |
4.20 – 18.90 |
|
| Treat/reuse |
0 – 12 |
12.50 – 28.50 |
12 – 45 |
| Incineration |
10.50 – 38 |
|
20 – 100 |
| Injection |
8.50 – 11 |
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| Salt cavern |
1.95 – 6 |
50 |
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Source: Argonne National Laboratory
 Costs
for Offsite Disposal of Nonhazardous Oil Field Wastes: Salt Caverns
versus Other Disposal Methods (134 KB)
Cavern Disposal Costs for NORM Should be Cost-Competitive
- Most NORM wastes are going to commercial injection facilities
that charge more than $100/bbl (see below).
- Cavern disposal costs for NOW range from $2 – $6/bbl.
- These costs are competitive with other disposal companies
in the same area
- Current cavern operators have not estimated the incremental
cost to handle NORM wastes, but they stand a good chance of
being cost-competitive with other forms of NORM disposal once
the regulatory agencies issue permits for cavern disposal of
NORM.
1998 NORM Disposal Costs – ($/bbl)
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The onsite injection
operations have been used only offshore. |
The majority of U.S. NORM waste is going to the commercial injection
facility charging $150/bbl.
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