Gas Industry Operations Research Articles

Intuitionistic fuzzy-based entropy weight method-TOPSIS for multi-attribute group decision-making in drilling fluid waste treatment technology selection.

Drilling fluid waste is produced by oil and gas industry operations and can potentially cause serious environmental pollution and energy consumption if not properly treated. Currently, there are several treatment methods available for drilling fluid waste such as bioremediation, thermal treatment, solidification/stabilization treatment, electrochemical remediation, physiochemical treatment, and supercritical fluid treatment. However, selecting an adequate method to treat drilling fluid waste is a critical consideration. The objective of this work is to analyze the problem of drilling fluid waste pollution and treatment methods, establish a drilling fluid waste treatment decision index system that takes into account various factors, and apply the intuitionistic fuzzy-based entropy weight method (EWM)-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method to make a multi-attribute group decision on drilling fluid waste treatment methods. The method is then applied to the WBQ004-1-H1 drilling project as an example for comprehensive analysis. The final decision results show that A3 (0.566) > A1 (0.537) > A6 (0.526) > A5 (0.485) > A4 (0.478) > A2 (0.447), so the solidification/stabilization treatment is the most suitable method for this project, providing new insights into selecting drilling fluid waste treatment methods in actual projects.

Purification of emulsified oily polluted waters with modified melamine foams

Oil and gas industry operations produce tremendous amounts of wastewater (produced water; PW). Tertiary treatment of the PW in the final treatment stage is challenging due to the presence of colloids with sizes < 500 nm and a low concentration target for the effluent of <10 mg/L. This study was focused on the purification of colloidal PW with modified melamine foams (MFs) and ferric chloride. The modified MFs exhibited superhydrophobic and superoleophilic character due to increasing roughness and complexation of Fe3＋ ions within the MF structure. The modified MF showed separation efficiencies up to 86 ± 3% for emulsions containing 120 ppm carbon. The Fe3＋ cations changed the hydrophilicities of the foams and made them highly hydrophobic, and they also contributed significantly to the adsorption of negatively charged species, such as crude oil droplets modified with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate). The demulsification mechanism involved multiple diffusion processes run over different time scales, including diffusion of an emulsion into the foam and diffusion of the oil droplets within the foam, combined with parallel adsorption of the oil droplets onto the solid skeleton of the foam. The adsorption capacity of the MFs increased linearly with increasing initial concentration of crude oil content in the PW. The MFs were reusable for six consecutive cycles.

Perlindungan Hukum Bagi Kreditor dalam Kepailitan di Sektor Hulu Minyak dan Gas Bumi

One of the challenges or problems that develop during upstream oil and gas industry operations is bankruptcy. The oil and gas upstream industry faces a variety of challenges. These problems include managing Indonesia's oil and gas deposits, which are now concentrated mostly in the western half of the country, and the nation's small domestic oil and gas reserves in compared to other countries. Despite the fact that Indonesia's reserves cannot be described as substantial, they are nonetheless significant given the country's enormous population. A normative juridical methodology was employed to write this journal. Temuan penelitian tersebut dirinci dalam artikel jurnal ini mengenai status kasus kepailitan yang masih beredar di Indonesia, negara yang ekonominya sedang memasuki tahap krisis akibat penyebaran global pandemi Covid-19. In order for the data in bankruptcy cases to once more indicate a rise in the number of Commercial Court registrations.

Review of Literature on Political Risks to the Operations of Large Oil &amp; Gas Companies and Their Mitigation in Yemen

The intention behind this study is to select the most prominent from the political risks for the industry in Yemen and describe the best practices to mitigate them, identify strategic risk and risk management strategies involved in oil and gas industry operations &amp; analyse the effectiveness of oil and gas company's risk response strategies in promoting political stability in its areas of business. The methodology behind identifying the risks and assessing them is the following Risk management according probability impact matrix in analyzing risk factors. A total of 61 factors that might cause risks in oil and gas construction projects were defined through a detailed literature review. Risk factors identified were bureaucratic government system and lengthy project approval procedure; poor design; incompetence of project team; inadequate tendering; late internal approval process from the owner; inadequate project organization structure; improper project feasibility study; inefficient and poor performance of constructors; improper project planning and budgeting; and design changes among others.

A hybrid FAHP-MCGP approach to sustainable assessment of candidate EOR methods for a given oil reservoir

During the past decades, growing global demand for crude oil, staggering costs of exploration of new reservoirs, and gradual decreasing natural pressure inside mature reserves have made oil companies interested in using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies to improve recovery factor. Like other oil and gas industry operations, observance of sustainable development criteria is a serious challenge for EOR projects. In reality, most of these criteria introduce themselves as qualitative features of the problem, and evaluating EOR scenarios based on them is more subjective. Also, these criteria may have various relative weights. Furthermore, due to the uncertainty and scarcity of precise data, decision-makers may not set a single aspiration for each criterion and prefer to set an aspiration level for every objective. In view of this argument, this paper suggests a hybrid framework to assess and prioritize the different EOR scenarios for a given oil reservoir from a sustainability point of view. Firstly, based on an extensive review of the literature, a comprehensive set of sustainability criteria for screening EOR projects was developed. Afterward, a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was applied to determine the relative weights of the most influencing sustainability criteria, according to the judgments provided by experts from relevant fields. Finally, a Multi-Choice Goal Programming (MCGP) model was utilized for prioritizing the performance of EOR methods based on minimum unwanted deviation from aspiration levels for objectives considered in the problem. The findings reveal that the hydrocarbon miscible gas injection is the best choice and CO2 miscible gas injection is the least favorable choice. The present study provides a helpful and straightforward decision-making tool for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of EOR scenarios.

Formation, characteristics and oil industry applications of nanoemulsions: A review

Nanoemulsions are kinetically stable homogeneous dispersions of immiscible liquids with droplet sizes in the order of 500 nm. The nano-size droplets are advantageous in enhancing nanoemulsion properties such as sturdy stability, large surface area per unit volume, improved interfacial and wetting behavior and configurable rheology. Nanoemulsions are widely prepared by high energy or Brute Force comprising ultrasonication and high pressure homogenization (HPH) and by low energy or Persuasion methods comprising phase inversion temperature (PIT) and phase inversion composition (PIC). Bubble bursting, microfluidization and evaporative ripening are the newly developed nanoemulsions preparation techniques. From pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, cosmetics, material synthesis to food, agriculture and nanoscale colloidal dispersions understanding nanoemulsions have found a diverse industrial applications. Recent investigations discovered nanoemulsions to be beneficial in oil and gas industry operations for instance in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. This review article summarizes methods of nanoemulsions formation, its properties and significant research on nanoemulsions in oil and gas industry.

Contemporary Issues of Climate Change on Oil and Gas Industry Operations

The reality of climate change as an aspect of broader global and environmental change attributable to either natural or anthropogenic cause is becoming more evident. Equally, energy, chiefly oil and gas is not only a major climate change inducer via greenhouse gas emissions anymore, but also a victim of the impacts therein. As such, this paper examines the impact of recorded changes in climatic variables on oil and gas operations categorized into upstream, midstream and downstream operations representing exploration and production, transportation, along with processing and distribution respectively. Identified changes in weather events primarily driven by general climate change having significant impact on oil and gas operations and infrastructure include increasing temperature, increasing flooding, storm surges, sea level rise, coastal erosion, intense winds and waves, drought/water shortage and subsidence/landslides/mudslides and they all pose tremendous risk to onshore and offshore (shallow and deep water) operations and installations. Several adaptation measures are currently being implemented some of which are already yielding positive results. Adaptation measures are being complemented with mitigation strategies as long-term solutions. Sadly, most developing oil producing countries are still way behind in adopting various existing adaptation measures and implementing mitigative strategies due to prevalent low capacity.

Importance of Well Completion Methods and Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques in Oil and Gas Industry Operations

Importance of Well Completion Methods and Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques in Oil and Gas Industry Operations

A REVIEW OF OILFIELD WASTEWATER TREATMENT USING MEMBRANE FILTRATION OVER CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

The oil and gas industry has been a constant developing industry as it is of importance to the maintenance of industrial civilization in its current configuration and play vital roles in many other industries. Some oil and gas industry operations have been accountable of water contamination through by-results of refining and oil slicks. One of the biggest by-products that have raised a critical environment concern is oilfield produced water. Oilfield produced water (OPW) is coproduced aqua liquid phase which originate from well alongside oil phases in normal production process. The content of OPW consists of different type of organic and inorganic mix. Discarding this kind of wastewater can lead to surface pollution especially on water sources as well as soil. Hence, to meet environmental regulations as well as reuse and recycling of produced water, many researchers have focused on treating oily saline produced water. Conventional technologies used to treat produced water consist of clarifiers, dissolved air flotation, hydro cyclones, and disposable filters/absorbers. Typically, additional chemicals for coagulation or settling are needed which are expensive and are incapable of achieving recently required standards of cleanliness. Therefore, researchers have swung to membrane filtration plans because of their capability to minimize extra expenses and surpass issues connected with current advances. Thus, the purpose of this review is to highlight the current and developed membrane technology used in treating the oilfield produced wastewater and its current progress.

Recovery of monoethylene glycol combined with kinetic hydrate inhibitor

Kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) combined with thermodynamic inhibitors (THIs) such as monoethylene glycol (MEG) have been good additives for the prevention of hydrate blockages in oil and gas industry operations. The regeneration and recycling of MEG are conventional process steps used to reduce costs. However, the recovery of THIs in the presence of KHIs or the recovery of the KHIs alone has rarely been investigated. In this paper, a series of experiments was designed to study the recovery of both a KHI based poly (N-vinylcaprolactam) and MEG. The results showed that the MEG recovery rate was closely related to the recovery temperature, but was not influenced by the KHI. The MEG recovery rate from solutions consisting of MEG and the KHI was as high as 94.52%, and the KHI was recovered along with the MEG. The polymer structure of the KHI was rarely changed when the recovery temperature was close to its polymerization temperature. The presence of the KHI had a negative impact on the thermodynamic inhibition efficiency of the MEG. The KHI performance of the recovered solution obtained at the KHI polymerization temperature could reach the level of the fresh combination inhibitor, but the recovered solutions obtained at temperatures far above the KHI polymerization temperature demonstrated worse inhibitory performance. The kinetic performance could be restored by adding 5.0wt% fresh MEG. MEG enabled a subcooling temperature decrease into the range in which KHI which could play its role effectively, leading to the improved kinetic performance of the recovered solution.

A Study on Sorption of (226)Ra on Different Clay Matrices.

The sorption of radium 226 ((226)Ra) on different clay materials (bentonite, illite and a mixture of bentonite-illite) was studied. Clay materials are used in the construction of disposal pits for technically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) wastes (i.e., contaminated soil and sludge) generated by the oil and gas industry operations. Experimental conditions (pH, clay materials quantity, and activity concentrations of (226)Ra) were changed in order to determine the optimal state for adsorption of (226)Ra. The results showed that the concentration of adsorbed (226)Ra on clay materials increased with time to reach an equilibrium state after approximately 5h. More than 95% of the radium was adsorbed. The mixture of bentonite-illite (1/9) exhibited the greatest adsorption of radium under all experimental conditions.

Green marketing applications: internet usage on public perceptions of hydraulic fracturing within the oil and gas industry

As the oil and gas industry explodes in the Appalachian region, the internet has become publicly engaged with a multitude of ad campaigns and informational websites - created both by industry representatives as well as non-industry related groups - dedicated to swaying the public in regard to controversial oil and gas drilling techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing. Based on the negative superiority effect, the negative propaganda geared toward undermining the oil and gas industry's operations will have a more persuasive effect on public perception and will lead to an overall negative opinion of oil and gas industry operatives. Based on an empirical study, it was suggested that the industry mount educational campaigns to counter the enormous amount of negative blogs and web-based materials found on hydraulic fracking and other oil and gas procedures.

Comments: Community Engagement

Editor's column The growth in unconventionals production and the spotlight on hydraulic fracturing have heightened public concern about oil and gas industry operations and raised the stakes for those working in the industry. News media reports, movies, Internet blogs, and political debate have combined to add scrutiny to upstream operations and their potential impact on health, the environment, and local communities. It has become not only an industry and company issue, but an individual one as well. Many engineers and other staff in the industry are getting questions about their companies’ operations from neighbors and others in their communities. Hydraulic fracturing is usually the focal point. Even though fracturing has been used by the industry since the late 1940s, many believe it is a new technology that potentially threatens water supplies and spawns other negative effects. Anti-fracturing initiatives are currently being proposed in numerous cities and states around the United States. A number of resources are available to help members of the industry answer these questions. SPE’s www.energy4me site offers information on hydraulic fracturing and other industry technologies, classroom resources for teachers, and industry careers. Other industry-affiliated associations, including the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, provide materials as well. The API recently issued what it calls the “gold standard” for how companies and management should engage with communities affected by exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources. ANSI-API Bulletin 100-3 was released after 3 years of discussions with producers, community leaders, US state regulators, property owners, and other stakeholders.

Frostbites in circumpolar areas

Circumpolar areas are associated with prolonged cold exposure where wind, precipitation, and darkness further aggravate the environmental conditions and the associated risks. Despite the climate warming, cold climatic conditions will prevail in circumpolar areas and contribute to adverse health effects. Frostbite is a freezing injury where localized damage affects the skin and other tissues. It occurs during occupational or leisure-time activities and is common in the general population among men and women of various ages. Industries of the circumpolar areas where frostbite occurs frequently include transportation, mining, oil, and gas industry, construction, agriculture, and military operations. Cold injuries may also occur during leisure-time activities involving substantial cold exposure, such as mountaineering, skiing, and snowmobiling. Accidental situations (occupational, leisure time) often contribute to adverse cooling and cold injuries. Several environmental (temperature, wind, wetness, cold objects, and altitude) and individual (behavior, health, and physiology) predisposing factors are connected with frostbite injuries. Vulnerable populations include those having a chronic disease (cardiovascular, diabetes, and depression), children and the elderly, or homeless people. Frostbite results in sequelae causing different types of discomfort and functional limitations that may persist for years. A frostbite injury is preventable, and hence, unacceptable from a public health perspective. Appropriate cold risk management includes awareness of the adverse effects of cold, individual adjustment of cold exposure and clothing, or in occupational context different organizational and technical measures. In addition, vulnerable population groups need customized information and care for proper prevention of frostbites.

Ensemble methods for process monitoring in oil and gas industry operations

Complex operations carried out in the oil and gas industry such as drilling require constant and accurate real-time monitoring of the process. To this aim, a real-time model of the drilling operation is required. Such a model is used to estimate the state of the well when and where direct and reliable measurements are not available and it helps the driller gain an overview of the drilling process. Given the harsh operating environment, sensor reliability and sensor calibration are known problem areas, and bad data quality is a common problem, affecting the accuracy of the model. As a result, the driller may be misled about the downhole situation or receive conflicting claims about operating conditions. A way to reduce uncertainty and increase confidence is to aggregate the opinion of different experts. When the expert is a computer program, such aggregation is often referred to as an ensemble approach. The principle underlies techniques that have become popular in the oil industry in recent years, such as probabilistic forecasting and ensemble Kalman filters. In this paper, we discuss this trend and develop an ensemble system for predicting the bottom-hole pressure during a managed pressure drilling operation. The improved accuracy and robustness of the ensemble approach in situations with bad data quality is demonstrated.

Promotion of Sustainable Oil and Gas Operations in Africa

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are aggressively developing infrastructure, analytical support systems, and human capital to support economic growth objectives and interregional competition in key economic sectors. Energy is the lifeblood of economic development activities. In the case of some sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, oil and gas dominate the national economy. This is the case despite the acknowledged global climate change impacts of an increasingly carbon-dominated global economy. Still, the production of more gas for development of gas-powered electric power plants as replacements for the coalfired plants, which emit more pollution, is at least a desirable intermediate step toward more sustainable power systems. Estimates of the crude oil reserves for Nigeria, the most populous African country with a population of 150 million , range from 24.0 billion barrels to 31.5 billion barrels. Nigeria’s proven natural gas reserves are about 124 trillion cubic feet Tcf , which ranks ninth in the world. Many large projects, such as the construction of the $7 billion, 4,000-kilometer Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline to convey gas from the Niger Delta of Nigeria to the export terminal at Beni Saf in Algeria; the $620 million West African Gas Pipeline that will traverse Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana; the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Project, which is projected to generate about $1 billion per year over a 22.5-year operational period; and Ghana’s $750 million Jubilee Oil Field Project, underscore the growing role of the oil and gas sector in the African economy. Currently, the scarcity of trained personnel for support of oil and gas industry operations is limiting growth in this economic

A decade of sectoral initiative to promote consistent and reliable quantification of greenhouse gas emissions

With the increased focus on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and their role in the implementation of policy measures for their mitigation, there continues to be a need for accurate, reliable and transparent characterisation of these emissions. A myriad of mandatory reporting regulations and voluntary initiatives with diverse protocols and methodologies are emerging globally. This poses a particular challenge to multinational companies, such as in the oil and natural gas industry sector, which operate globally and in joint ventures. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and its member companies recognised these challenges over a decade ago and launched a multi-year initiative to map out and provide tools for the quantification of GHG emissions from oil and natural gas industry operations and similar industrial sources. During this time span, the industry developed several key guidance documents to promote the consistent and accurate quantification and reporting of GHG emissions. This paper will focus on two recent publications: the 2009 Edition of API’s Compendium of GHG Emissions Estimation Methodologies for the Oil and Gas Industry (3rd revision); and, a new document addressing technical considerations and statistical calculation methods for assessing the uncertainty of GHG emission estimates. The paper will discuss case studies pertinent to oil and natural gas exploration and production activities and will put these in context with emerging US mandatory GHG emissions reporting. It will also discuss the broad applicability of these estimation methods, and uncertainty considerations, to most industry sectors that rely on fossil fuels for their energy sources.

On simulation and optimization of one natural gas industry system under the rough environment

Industry planning is a complex decision making problem involving various criteria under dynamic situations. This paper studies the natural gas industry planning where natural gas is used to produce chemical products in the upper course of the Yangtze River in China. We identify the main uncertainty factors that affecting planning, and then model and analyze them using rough set, dynamic system and multiple objective programming theories. Thus, we develop system dynamic-rough multiple objective programming (SD-RMOP) models to plan and develop natural gas industry operations in this region. We then carry out a simulation experiment using optimized parameters from SD-RMOP. We compare performance from different models and show how decision-making is improved by the insight the model provides.

Anticipating public attitudes toward underground CO 2 storage

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) may play a central role in managing carbon emissions from the power sector and industry, but public support for the technology is unclear. To address this knowledge gap, and to test the use of discrete choice analysis for determining public attitudes, two focus groups and a national survey were conducted in Canada to investigate the public's perceptions of the benefits and risks of CCS, the likely determinants of public opinion, and overall support for the use of CCS. The results showed slight support for CCS development in Canada, and a belief that CCS is less risky than normal oil and gas industry operations, nuclear power, or coal-burning power plants. A majority of respondents indicate that they would support the use of CCS as part of a greenhouse gas reduction strategy, although it would likely have to be used in combination with energy efficiency and alternative energy technologies in order to retain public support.

Vanadium contamination monitored by an Arctic bivalve, Cyrtodaria kurriana.

The trace element Vanadium enters the ocean principally through natural weathering processes, atmospheric fallout and man's activity. Although recent studies failed to detect any significant input of atmospheric Vanadium in the Arctic environment, local contamination is always possible. Tuktoyaktuk is a small Inuvialuit community situated on the eastern edge of the Mackenzie River Delta along the shore of Kugmallit Bay. It has one of the few good natural harbors in the Western Arctic, and serves as the principle support base for oil and gas industry operations. Residual oil, high in Vanadium content, powers the electric generators and is periodically sprayed over the dirt road surfaces to keep dust levels down. This, along with heavy ship traffic, may contribute to local Vanadium contamination in the marine system. The Arctic Propeller clam, Cyrtodaria kurriana (Dunker), is the most common filter feeding bivalve in Tuktoyaktuk Harbor and is a major component in the trophic chain. This study investigates the utility of this bivalve as a monitor for Vanadium contamination in the Arctic environment. The total Vanadium content of sediments was determined bu x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and of claim tissues by short-decay instrumental neutron activation analysis.