Infrastructure sustainability and resilience: a framework for assessing critical oil and gas infrastructures

Akpan, Dianabasi E. (2023). Infrastructure sustainability and resilience: a framework for assessing critical oil and gas infrastructures. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Critical energy infrastructures are pivotal to a well-functioning modern society. Their continuous functions are required to meet energy demands of expanding cities and growing population. Oil and gas remain essential for far-future energy needs, although this requires a sustainable and resilient delivery infrastructure system. Downstream critical oil and gas infrastructures systems (DCOGIs) are vital components of this for domestic and industrial end users. Disruptions to their normal functions have wide-ranging socio-economic and environmental implications. Sustainability and resilience are two concepts commonly used in assessing the quality of a variety of systems. There is growing interest across multiple disciplines that these concepts should be integrated when considering complex systems like DCOGIs, and sustainability alone is considered not enough to assess such systems. To date there is no existing framework(s) to adequately assess both sustainability and resilience of DCOGIs specifically. Within the DCOGI industry it exists measures that are at best reactive, yet in need of a practical and holistic sustainability and resilience (hybrid) framework. The study presented here has developed a novel hybrid framework the ‘RESOGI’ (REsilient and Sustainable Oil and Gas Infrastructure), composed of 7 headline hybrid indicators and 36 sub-hybrid indicators developed for assessing DCOGIs specifically.In the approach presented the RESOGI is developed using findings from an extensive literature review and empirical data, obtained from a survey involving an array of stakeholders including oil and gas industry professionals.The survey responses also facilitated the development of an accompanying criticality table derived for six identified DCOGI,and the development of weightings for the hybrid indicators using a multi-criteria decision analysis methodology. Cyber security and Noise sub-indicators were found to be the least critical to achieving sustainability and resilience in DCOGIs. Security and Redundancy had the highest weightings(w)with w = 0.35 and w = 0.22 respectively,implying Security and Redundancy as the most critical to achieving sustainability and resilience in DCOGIs. As a proof of the hybrid concept, the RESOGI is employed for two case study DCOGI systems to assess their sustainability and resilience levels. The results demonstrate that the RESOGI is a suitable framework to provide informed decision-making to DCOGI stakeholders and it can assess the sustainability and resilience levels of DCOGI systems.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):