A Hypertext Environmental Regulations Manager for the Petroleum Industry

Abstract

Abstract A hypertext environmental regulations manager for the state of New Mexico has been created for the petroleum engineer. With the growing need for an understanding of environmental regulations, the hypertext system is designed to store environmental information and regulations and present them in an interactive and intuitive manner. This research will demonstrate the advantages of an on-line system to provide the unfamiliar engineer a logical methodology to comprehend the environmental aspect of the petroleum industry. Environmental operating guidelines are easily accessed by using a point and click method. The environmental guidelines recommended by the Oil Conservation Division (OCD), the regulatory agency for the petroleum industry in New Mexico, are presented as the primary focus of this work. These guidelines are categorized by five subject areas most useful to the petroleum engineer: drilling, production, pipeline and abandonment operations, and leaks, spill and release response. The manager also supplies the permitting requirements and procedures for environmentally sensitive operations such as drilling, injection and enhanced recovery and abandonment operations referenced to the OCD general operating rules and regulations for oil and gas exploration and production. The permitting procedures section also presents the necessary forms to be filed for such operations. Written in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), the manager is read using a browser such as Netscape. With the hypertext format, the program also furnishes Internet links to environmental information and resources like the EPA and the United States Congressional federal regulations in addition to commercial environmental World Wide Web sites. With the implementation of the regulations manager, the engineer has a new tool to work more efficiently, saving time and money. This system can be expanded to include not only environmental but all operating regulations for any state or country and is an effective method for future electronic filing of regulatory forms. Introduction Today, the Internet, the global connection of computer networks, is growing at an exponential rate creating a world-wide medium for the exchange of information. The petroleum industry is now taking advantage of this medium in the way of technology transfer. Technology transfer is just beginning to expand its capabilities as seen in the Gas and Oil Technology Exchange and Communication Highway (GOTECH) information server and the Electronic Journal of Petroleum Engineering (E-JPE). Technology transfer provides a new means to study areas of the petroleum industry previously not addressed. Environmental regulations is one such area. As the world is becoming increasingly aware of environmental protection, so should the petroleum engineer. The objective of this research was to develop a new way for the petroleum engineer to learn about the environmental regulation aspect of oil and gas exploration and production without having to decipher volumes of reference materials. The hypertext environmental regulations manager accomplishes this objective by providing an innovative method for the engineer to understand this unique part of the petroleum industry. In the state of New Mexico, many agencies, aside from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have strict environmental rules regarding oil and gas exploration and production. These agencies include the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC), the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and individual Indian tribes and pueblos. P. 581