Environmental monitoring of offshore drilling for petroleum exploration (MAPEM): A brief overview

This special issue of Deep-Sea Research II includes the results of the Project Environmental Monitoring of Offshore Drilling for Petroleum Exploration—MAPEM, conducted between 2001 and 2003, in a deep-water location at Campos Basin, Brazil, subjected to the effects of the discharge of non-aqueous fluids (NAFs) impregnated drill cuttings. ploratory program for the marine area includes the drilling of an expressive number of exploratory wells. In many of these, there might surface the need to use NAFs in order to achieve successful and efficient drilling programs. Previous monitoring studies and models have shown that the biota exposition in the water column is very low, and that the most likely effects of NAF-covered cuttings discharge will take place near the bottom. The development of MAPEM Project aims at supplying key data to validate discharge models, determine the degree of environmental impact and recovery at the well location 1 year after discharge by assessing the physical, chemical and biological changes that have occurred at a depth of around 900 m.