A $20 million oil and gas waste processing facility will be built in Western Australia’s city of Karratha in the Pilbara region.
The West Australian reported Contract Resources, owned by Bapcor, will build the plant to process and recycle waste by-products which are removed from the oil and gas production stream.
In an Australian-first, the plant will be built using world-leading technology from Econ Industries of Germany.
It will have the capacity to process up to 2000 tonnes of waste a year.
Contract Resources chief executive Ivor Ferguson told The West Australian the process involved extracting heavy metals and oils, which were then recycled.
The remaining purified waste was disposed of at a normal landfill site.
Mr Ferguson said the plant, to be operating by early next year, offered a viable solution for producers who now put most of their hazardous waste in long-term storage.
“Contract Resources was well placed to provide the waste services, having undertaken industrial services, including decontamination of oil and gas equipment, for many years,” he said.
The plant will employ about 20 people when fully operational.