Abstract

VICO Indonesia made a decision to stop using large open pits at the Badak-101 well site for storage of oily sludge. The cleanup of the sludge and the pits was a major undertaking. After more than ten years of use, the pits were full of the material and the soil around the pits was contaminated with the sludge.

The first stage was to separate the sludge from the liquids. Using a heater and centrifuge, the liquids were removed to leave an oily solid with reduced oil content. The oil was of an acceptable quality to be processed with the crude oil.

The second stage of the project used a new bioremediation technology to reduce the oil content to meet regulations. Bio-pile bioremediation was chosen to process the oily waste in-situ at a low cost. This technology uses local microbes to degrade the toxic hydrocarbons to harmless end products. The process was approved by the government agency responsible for the environment before starting the project.

The third stage of the project was to confirm remediation results. The area of remediated soil was planted with a variety of vegetation. The soil and plantation have been analyzed to validate the process and ensure there is no contamination.

Using the above technologies, the oily sludge storage at Badak-101 was successfully rehabilitated to acceptable levels of contamination.