Reference no: EM132821767 , Length: word count:2000
7138EXQ Oil Spill Science, Response and Remediation - Coventry University
Coursework - Lab Report
Learning Outcome 1: Analyse oil spill data and environmental data to model the fate and transport of oil on water;
Learning Outcome 2: Assess results from 2. above alongside the ‘minimum regret' options and make judgement on how best to protect resources and direct cleanup efforts
Tasks and marking:
Background Information
The socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing our world today require, amongst others, proactive reduction in global greenhouse emissions (i.e. net zero emissions), especially from the energy industry as encapsulated in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. Meanwhile, the IEA scenarios suggest that there will be no rapid decline in oil demand unless there is a significant shift in policies as demonstrated in Figure 1. Such policy changes are often not easy and their implementation can hardly be swift to meet the required global decline in oil demand (see Anifowose et al. 2020).
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Mariner oilfield located in the North Sea Shetland basin of the UK Continental shelf (Figure 2) began oil production in August 2019. The Mariner produces highly viscous and relatively heavy oil from two complex reservoirs (i.e. Heimdal and Maureen) consisting of two operational modules viz: the production, drilling and living quarters (PDQ) or Mariner A and a floating storage unit (FSU) or Mariner B, which collects, stores and offloads produced oil to the shore through oceangoing vessels.
As a consultant, you have been hired to provide educated advice on the potential behaviour of the Mariner oil, which should guide operational response, as detailed below:
Your tasks
a. Assume that, before leaving Mariner A at 59° 04′ 17″ N, 00° 41′ 57″ E, a latent failure led to an oil spill over a five-day period. You are to evaluate the likely trajectories of the oil using evidence from the literature and supporting your analyses with relevant illustrations/graphics including the ‘Splot Mass Balance'. Key data can be found in Tables 1 and 2;
b. In furtherance to question a., provide an analysis of the uncertainties, aka "Minimum Regret", surrounding the result from a. above. Also, provide an evaluation of oil weathering characteristics over the five day period including graphic illustrations; and,
c. Evaluate the different clean-up options and assess the best possible remediation technique following the oil weathering characteristics in b. above.
Attachment:- Oil Spill Science.rar