First Order for Wärtsilä Slop Water Treatment

The new Wärtsilä slop water treatment system has been ordered for an ultra-deep water drill ship operating in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the first for Wärtsilä’s new system. The contract was signed in the end of 2013.

The Wärtsilä slop water treatment system is designed to treat and clean water contaminated with slop or drilling mud. For operators, large volumes of slop mud result in enormous disposal expenses and represent a potentially significant environmental issue. According to the manufacturer, the environmentally favorable Wärtsilä system enables the amount of drill slop sent ashore to be reduced by as much as 80-90 percent. With its compact design and modular concept, the Wärtsilä slop water treatment system is easy to retrofit to any rig.

"Wärtsilä has vast experience in the treatment of oil, water and discharge waste for offshore platforms, production vessels, and other maritime vessels with systems that meet all existing and anticipated standards. By being able to provide high performance solutions that safely reduce the need for drill slop to be sent ashore, we are promoting environmental sustainability as well as lowering our customers' operating costs," said Juha Kytölä, Vice President Environmental Solutions, Wärtsilä Ship Power.

The drillship for which this first installation is intended, is capable of drilling wells at water depths of up to 10,000 ft (3,100 m). It has a drill water capacity of 2,178 m3, which provides an indication of the amount of slop water that will be handled by the Wärtsilä slop water treatment system.

wartsila.com