Enhancing Oil Spill Consequence Management Through Satellite Technology

Abstract

Abstract Objectives/Scope The paper will have four objectives: to outline how satellite technology can enhance oil spill monitoring and therefore consequence management even at mid-latitudes; to explain the technical challenges of using satellite technologies at mid-latitudes, such as in the Arabian Gulf; to showcase studies of how satellite-based oil spill monitoring has been done successfully at mid-latitudes elsewhere in the world; to outline how collaborative satellite monitoring could be adopted by countries around the Arabian Gulf, patterned on Norway and the European Maritime Safety Agency's multi-stakeholder approach. Methods, Procedures, Process The presentation will begin with an explanation of the key benefits of using satellite technology for oil spill monitoring and enhanced consequence management, as well as the identification of likely polluters; outline the challenges posed by doing so at mid-latitudes, such as the Arabian Gulf; use the case study method to demonstrate how it has been done successfully elsewhere under similar conditions; provide a vision of how collaborative satellite oil spill monitoring and polluter identification could be used to great effect in the Arabian Gulf, modeled on examples from the Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO) and the European Maritime Safety Agency's (EMSA) multilateral monitoring program. Results, Observations, Conclusions The results of the paper will be two-fold. Drawing on the example of successes in the Gulf of Mexico and French Guiana, that there are two keys to successfully using satellite technology at mid-latitudes for oil spill monitoring and enhanced consequence management. First, that a multi-mission satellite provider is required because one single satellite will not offer sufficient daily coverage close to the equator to provide oil and gas operators, or regulatory authorities, with adequate actionable information. Second, that the satellite provider must be suitably equipped in its service delivery chain to offer near-real time service, meaning delivery of oil spill detection reports in under 2 hours. Against the background of these results, a conclusion will be drawn, which is that significant benefits would accrue from the countries in the Arabian Gulf adopting a collaborative oil spill monitoring program based on effective satellite technologies. This challenge is particularly pressing given that an oil spill at one end of the Gulf will inevitably threaten beaches and delicate marine eco-systems at the other end. And when it comes to effective oil spill detection and consequence management, the most valuable commodity is time, making genuinely actionable information vital, not optional. Novel/Additive Information The potential, challenges and solutions of using satellite technology for oil spill monitoring and enhanced consequence management are not well known in the petroleum industry. This presentation aims to address that knowledge gap and showcase novel solutions to a key, pressing, HSE challenge for the petroleum industry.