September 2025 Vol. 80 No. 9
Features
Mud disposal website supports HDD industry
CORINNA HUNT, Contributing Editor
When most people hear “drilling mud,” they think of the oil-based mud that comes from vertical oil and gas drilling, which can cause environmental damage to ground conditions when disposed of improperly. But oil-based drilling mud is “a totally different animal” from HDD drilling mud, said Terry Flynn, vice president of sales and marketing for Tulsa Rig Iron.
“HDD drilling mud is water-based and contains bentonite, which is a naturally occurring mineral, and the additives used in it are in very minute ratios and normally aren’t hazardous,” he said.
Oklahoma State University conducted a white-paper study on spent drilling mud, which found that bentonite-based drilling mud used in the HDD market is actually beneficial for ground conditions. “There was beneficial vegetation growth from the applied bentonite slurry,” Flynn said.
Tulsa Rig Iron and other organizations have promoted those findings, but there’s still the issue of where to find disposal sites when a contractor is working in unfamiliar areas.
“Conversations always came back to, ‘How can we help the industry solve this problem?’” he said.
The company worked with its website developer to create the National Drilling Mud Disposal database. On Tulsa Rig Iron’s website, this section displays a searchable list or U.S. map with pin drops where disposal sites can be found.
Growing with industry
“It’s basically a crowd-sourced program,” Flynn said. “We don’t know all the disposal locations across the US, but if everybody chips in and says, ‘Hey, I know where this location is,’ you can go in there and add it to the database. We research the submitted location to confirm its hours, limitations of disposal and details like that, and then populate it into the database.”
The database was launched at the end of July and has been well-received.
“We’ve had a great response of visitors and contributors to it,” Flynn said. “It’s completely free to use; it’s our contribution to our industry.”
Being able to easily find disposal sites for HDD drilling mud is valuable for contractors during the pre-planning stages, because they can know ahead of time where a disposal location is in relation to the job site and how much disposal will cost; so they can build that information into their bid.
It’s also valuable while out on the job. If workers are looking for a place to dispose of fluid, they can easily search the database to find the nearest disposal site, as well as the site’s contact information and hours of operation.
“That saves much time and frustration on the contractors’ end,” he said.
A mobile App may be coming in the future, but the first priority was to get the web-based version off the ground and running smoothly, he explained. New listings for disposal sites have been coming in regularly, and Flynn is in talks with some of the larger waste management companies across the U.S. to add their available facilities.
Another area to build out is documentation of the safe disposal of HDD drilling fluids.
“We are working on placing documents on the database landing page, such as the Oklahoma State study,” Flynn said. “When contractors identify a potential new location, and the staff is hesitant to accept, the contractors can provide the documentation showing what the fluids consist of, which will hopefully ease their minds. We feel that will be a benefit, as well.”
More benefits
The possibility of including disposal sites for contaminated mud, or oil and gas drilling mud, is not something Tulsa Rig Iron has taken on yet, but some existing locations do offer disposal for both types.
“As we identify locations that do offer the hazardous disposal – we will add to the entry that that option is available, as well, besides the normal bentonite disposal,” he said.
Future plans include adding service companies, fresh-water sources, fabrication and welding facilities, and Tulsa Rig Iron is already encouraging HDD contractors of all sizes to take advantage of this tool.
“This database could be a one-stop shop for anyone out in the field who’s having an issue and does not know where to go,” Flynn said. “We encourage people to share the information, knowing that at some point they’re going to be working in other areas that they’re not familiar with, and this will be a fantastic resource.”
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