Canadians evaluate technologies to manage offshore drilling cuttings

Multicriteria decision making was used to assess eight alternatives for managing drilling cuttings offshore. The criteria include one threshold criterion, conformity with regulations, and four major categories of decision-making criteria: technical feasibility, rig compatibility, environmental impacts, and costs. The alternatives evaluated include technologies currently in use offshore and those used onshore but with potential for offshore applications. Each option was rated and the total score for each option was calculated using a weighted additive overall value model. Among the options, the best three that emerged include the vertical centrifuge, horizontal centrifuge, and reinjection.