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ConocoPhillips
Automated Drill-Cuttings Transfer on the Alaska North Slope With EDDY Pump Systems
To take the vacuum trucks and excavators out of Arctic drill-cuttings disposal, ConocoPhillips deployed EDDY Pump systems that pump abrasive cuttings at 40–70% solids over 1,000 ft to disposal — across three configurations on the North Slope, cutting cost and improving on-site safety.
OIL & GAS CASE STUDY
By pumping abrasive drill cuttings at 40–70% solids, EDDY Pump systems let ConocoPhillips retire the vacuum trucks and excavators used to haul cuttings on the North Slope.
ConocoPhillips runs multiple drilling operations on Alaska’s North Slope, where drill cuttings coming off the mud shakers must be moved and disposed of continuously. EDDY Pump engineered and deployed its high-solids pumping technology in three configurations across those operations — replacing costly vacuum trucks and excavators with automated, VFD-controlled pump systems that transfer cuttings up to 1,000 ft to their final destination.
SOLIDS CONCENTRATION THE EDDY PUMP MOVES — MORE SOLIDS, LESS WATER
DRILL CUTTINGS TRANSFERRED FROM THE TANK — NO VACUUM TRUCKS NEEDED
CUTTINGS HANDLING WITH THE AUTOMATED NoEx SYSTEM
The Challenge: Moving Abrasive Drill Cuttings Without Vacuum Trucks
Drill cuttings are abrasive, high-solids waste that comes off the mud shakers around the clock. On the North Slope, operators traditionally moved and disposed of them with vacuum trucks and excavators — equipment that is slow, labor-intensive, costly to run, and adds traffic and personnel exposure in a remote Arctic environment.
Conventional centrifugal pumps aren’t a straightforward alternative: their tight impeller-to-volute tolerances wear quickly on abrasive cuttings and can’t handle high solids. ConocoPhillips needed a way to pump cuttings directly — at high solids, over long distances, reliably — to take the trucks and excavators out of the loop.
The Solution: Three EDDY Pump Configurations for North Slope Cuttings Transfer
- Configuration 1 — a 6″ semi-submersible EDDY Pump with extended shaft and bearing house, set in a 10-ft-deep cuttings tank with a 6-ft shaft so a dry TEFC 100-HP motor could mount above it
- A slurry recirculation system, developed to mount inside an existing tank, continually mixes the cuttings to optimize pumping where there’s no room to mount the pump outside
- The NoEx Cuttings Transfer System — a fully engineered, all-in-one insulated cuttings tank with two EDDY Pumps for redundancy and a recirculation system for agitation
- NoEx captures cuttings as they fall off the mud shakers and pumps them ~1,000 ft to disposal with a 4″ EDDY Pump and 75-HP explosion-proof TEFC motor — about 5× faster and far safer
- Configuration 3 — two 6″ belt-driven EDDY Pumps with 75-HP motors mounted outside the cuttings tank to transfer cuttings over 1,000 ft, installed on a state-of-the-art drilling rig
- Every configuration is VFD-controlled for precise flow and pressure, eliminating the vacuum trucks and excavators disposal once required
EDDY Pump systems move abrasive drill cuttings at 40–70% solids over 1,000 ft — retiring the vacuum trucks and excavators and saving ConocoPhillips substantial cost on the North Slope.
CONOCOPHILLIPS DRILL-CUTTINGS TRANSFER · NORTH SLOPE, ALASKA
How the EDDY Pump Handles Abrasive Cuttings Without Impeller Wear
At the core of the EDDY Pump is a geometrically designed spinning rotor, not a centrifugal, positive-displacement, or vortex pump, that harnesses the principles of a tornado to create a synchronized eddy current. With the rotor out of the flow stream, it moves high and variable percentages of solids and passes lumps and debris that would clog conventional pumps.
That tolerance-free design is what lets the EDDY Pump handle abrasive drill cuttings at 40–70% solids without the rapid wear that afflicts centrifugal pumps — moving more solids with less water, over 1,000 ft, and eliminating the vacuum trucks and excavators that cuttings disposal used to require.
The Results: 5× Faster Cuttings Handling, Trucks and Excavators Retired
- Retired the vacuum trucks and excavators previously used to dispose of drill cuttings, saving ConocoPhillips substantial ongoing cost
- Pumped abrasive cuttings at 40–70% solids- more solids with less water- with pumps that have no critical impeller-to-volute tolerances to wear
- Transferred cuttings up to 1,000+ ft from the tank to their final destination under precise VFD control
- The automated NoEx system made cuttings handling about 5× faster while reducing personnel exposure on-site
- Proved out across three configurations on the North Slope, with the third installed on one of the most advanced drilling rigs ever built
About ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips is one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies. Its technical capability, asset quality, scale, and financial strength position it to compete globally — exploring for energy resources, producing oil and natural gas, and getting energy to market.
About Eddy Pump Corporation
Founded in 1984, EDDY Pump Corporation delivers breakthrough technology and service to industries including the U.S. Navy, oil & gas, mining, wastewater, paper/pulp, dredging, fracking, and chemical. At its core is the patented EDDY Pump — not a centrifugal, vortex, or positive-displacement pump, but a geometrically designed spinning rotor that harnesses the power of a tornado into fluid dynamics, handling material once deemed impossible or cost-prohibitive.