SOUTH AMERICA
In Venezuela, SWACO engineers are pioneering new methods for treating oilfield wastes and protecting a unique natural environment.

 

(Click on center picture for a personal profile.)
SWACO equipment is prevalent on this rig near Maturin and on others in Venezuela. Pictured above (l to r) Chris Stampfli, general manager - Anaco operations;
Rosemary Lopez, environmental engineer; and Carlos Alvarez, operations manager.
 
SWACO Pioneers Closed-Loop Fluids Management Historically, the focus of fluids engineers was inside the well, downhole where their products and systems make the drilling process possible. Today, equivalent emphasis is placed on the environment outside the well. Once a well is completed, returning the site to its natural condition becomes an operator's top priority.

SWACO sales increased 35 percent during 1996. In Venezuela, SWACO is teaming with the Petroleos de Venezuela companies, universities, national authorities and local communities to assure that drilling operations respect the environment. Gone are the large, hazardous reserve pits once commonly found on drilling sites. SWACO installed the first "dry location" in Venezuela's Barineas area over three years ago. On these locations, oil-base cuttings are treated by stabilization and solidification processes and then thin-spread or land-farmed to protect land and water.

La Ensenada, a facility designed, built and operated by SWACO, solidifies water-base and oil-base cuttings generated by drilling around Lake Maracaibo. Nearby, SWACO systems, installed on rigs operating in the lake itself, ensure that rig discharge meets or exceeds local environmental standards.

Four SWACO laboratories support Venezuela-based environmental engineers. The laboratories continually test new, more effective and efficient means for treating drill cuttings and fluids. North of Monagas, in one of the most active drilling areas in South America, testing has produced innovative methods for land-farming cuttings. The process uses quick lime mined in the region, as well as new polymers, several blends of silicate-based reagents, wood chips and fertilizers. Bacteria-laden vegetable fluids are blended with cuttings to speed bio-remediation. Engineers also use flocculated water to irrigate soils containing oil-base solidified cuttings.

SWACO's waste treatment during drilling, and their land management afterwards, produces many visible results. At sites where drilling rigs and support services were commonly found, citrus trees, green grasses, flowering plants and shrubs grow today.

SWACO's commitment to the community takes another form as well. The Company sponsors an informational Maturin-based radio program on regional environmental topics, focusing on how the local petroleum industry is working to safeguard Venezuela's abundant natural resources.
 
M-I Signs Joint Venture With Algeria's Sonatrach In July, M-I and Sonatrach, Algeria's state-owned oil company, entered into a joint venture to supply drilling fluids and other equipment and products. M-I, which owns 60 percent of this operation, is the first western oilfield services provider to obtain majority ownership in a Sonatrach joint venture. At the close of 1966, the M-I staff in Algeria numbered over 60. A significant increase is expected in 1997 as the company begins supplying drilling and completion fluids and services to support Algeria's rapidly expanding petroleum industry.

PREVIOUS | NEXT