Underground salt caverns provide an environmentally sound disposal option for oilfield liquid and solid wastes. Waste products are pumped into the caverns, typically in slurry form, displacing the naturally occurring brine, which is removed and re-injected into disposal wells.

Tervita operates salt cavern disposal facilities in Lindbergh, Alberta (5-26-56-05 W4M) and Unity, Saskatchewan (15-04-40-22- W3M). Our cavern operations are licensed to accept a wide range of upstream oil and gas waste, including:

• produced sand
• slop oil
• tank bottoms
• sludges
• naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)

Pre-Injection Brine Processing

The specialized expertise Tervita has developed – which efficiently and reliably processes waste materials with brine water before injection – enables our customers to send waste directly from source to disposal, without the need for waste storage. 

In addition, Tervita cavern facilities:

• feature the industry's fastest, most reliable waste receiving process
• are capable of unloading three trucks simultaneously
• provide real savings by reducing transportation, unloading and wait times
  

Water Cannon Decontamination

Tervita also offers a unique water cannon process – essentially a high-pressure tank/vessel cleaning system. It rapidly removes all waste from the tank, without the use of agitation vibrators, leaving it contamination-free. Once offloaded, the waste is immediately slurried and injected into the cavern minutes after it is received.

Seamless Service

Both Tervita cavern operations have critical backup processing and disposal systems, offerings multiple caverns and pumping systems for greater efficiency.

NORM Disposal

Tervita has created Canada's first and only permanent facility for disposal of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) associated with crude oil and natural gas production. Through designated cavern locations, our experienced people provide the most cost-effective NORM disposal available in Western Canada.