The emergence of Environmental drilling has brought us the Katch Kan’s Zero Spill System. A relatively new and proved system that is put on drilling rigs in order to ‘minimize or eliminate on-site fluid contamination and loss.’ In other words, this system is playing a big role in keeping locations from spilling drilling mud into the environment, which is commonly mixed with a variety of chemicals that aren’t always environmentally friendly.
This is done by attaching a relatively simple system to the bottom of the rig floor so that any oils, chemicals or liquids that are spilled on the floor can be caught before they hit the ground. Benefiting both the contractor and the operator in two distinct ways. First, by catching this drilling mud, the rig can recycle and reuse the expensive liquid which can potentially save them thousands of dollars per well. Remember that it is very common for rigs to use oil based mud, and at these prices, they want to recycle as much of that black gold as possible. Second, this system not only saves them money but proves that many of the oil companies are taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. Showing America that the industry is taking steps to clean up this traditionally dirty industry.
Now to be clear, this is a system that helps drilling rigs maintain a clean drill site, and does not have anything to do with the very popular political topic of hydraulic fracing. Understanding this will help you distinguish what kind of environmental impact it can make… which is very minimal when you compare it to pumping thousands of barrels of chemicals into the ground. Having said that, the impact it can make will be substantial when you identify exactly what its doing, and who is using it.
Today, this system is mainly used in more urban areas like the Barnett Shale or in areas where the culture is hypersensitive to the oil industry like NY or PA. But I have seen this start to change as rigs move from one area to the next. The larger more expensive rigs, such a Pioneer, H&P, or Precision drilling will commonly adopt this system when they are drilling in the Barnett, but they will continue to use it after they move another area such as South Texas. It is my belief that this trend will continue until smaller mom and pop drilling companies start to use this system as well.
This is a relatively cheap system that can make both an environmental and a monetary impact on the drilling contractors bottom line, and we can already see it happening today. With over 3000 systems sold since 1994, it is easy to see that this product is becoming quite popular. Especially as drilling increases in areas like New York, and Pennsylvania where the country tends to be more conscious of the industries environmental impact on surrounding areas.
I am always wanting to hear about cool systems like this, if you know of one, please tell me about it. I look forward to your questions/comments.http://www.katchkan.com/Home.aspx
