Click here to see a slide show of 100 years of energy production in Louisiana
Environmental Division
Exploration & Production Waste Management Section

 


Email the Office of Conservation

Exploration & Production Waste

Exploration & Production waste is defined as drilling wastes, salt water, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil or natural gas wells and which is not regulated by the provisions of, and, therefore, exempt from the Louisiana Hazardous Waste Regulations and the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended. E&P Wastes include, but are not limited to the following:

 
E&P Waste Description
01
Salt water (produced brine or produced water), except for salt water whose intended and actual use is in drilling, workover or completion fluids or in enhanced mineral recovery operations, process fluids generated by approved salvage oil operators who only receive oil (BS&W) from oil and gas leases, and nonhazardous natural gas plant processing waste fluid which is or may be commingled with produced formation water.
02 Oil-base drilling wastes (mud, fluids and cuttings)
03 Water-base drilling wastes (mud, fluids and cuttings)
04 Completion, workover and stimulation fluids
05 Production pit sludges
06 Storage tank sludge from production operations, onsite and commercial saltwater disposal facilities, salvage oil facilities (that only receive waste oil [BS&W] from oil and gas leases), and sludges generated by service company and commercial facility or transfer station wash water systems
07 Produced oily sands and solids
08 Produced formation fresh water
09 Rainwater from firewalls, ring levees and pits at drilling and production facilities
10 Washout water and residual solids generated from the cleaning of containers that transport E&P Waste and are not contaminated by hazardous waste or material: washout water and solids (E&P Waste Type 10) is or may be generated at a commercial facility or transfer station by the cleaning of a container holding a residual amount of E&P Waste
11 Washout pit water and residual solids from oilfield related carriers and service companies that are not permitted to haul hazardous waste or material
12 Nonhazardous natural gas plant processing waste solids.
13 (Reserved)
14 Pipeline test water which does not meet discharge limitations established by the appropriate state agency, or pipeline pigging waste, i.e., waste fluids/solids generated from the cleaning of a pipeline
15 E&P Wastes that are transported from permitted commercial facilities and transfer stations to permitted commercial treatment and disposal facilities, except those E&P Wastes defined as Waste Types 01 and 06
16 Crude oil spill clean-up waste
50 Salvageable hydrocarbons bound for permitted salvage oil operators
99 Other E&P Waste not described above. A description of these wastes and written approval from the Office of Conservation is required and must be attached to the manifest prior to transport.

  
617 North Third Street · P.O. Box 94275 · Baton Rouge Louisiana 70804-9275 · Voice 225.342.5515 Fax 225.242.3441
Revised on Monday March 03 2008 by the DNR Web Team