Environmental monitoring of offshore oil and gas drilling discharges – a caution on the use of barium as a tracer

Abstract

From the Abstract: “Commonly used methods for extracting barium from marine sediments are inefficient when high concentrations of barium sulphate are present in samples. Comparative data on sea-bed barium concentrations around a single exploration well are presented to highlight the inllnence of different extraction methods which can result in 2-3 order of magnitude differences in levels recorded. This suggests that in many monitoring studies the vnlne of barium as a tracer of discharged drilling wastes and thus as an aid to the interpretation of survey data is reduced. The environmental managmnent impHeations of these findings are explored and a holistic and more collaborative approach to environmental effects monitoring is advocated.”