Analysis of Environmental Sustainability through a Weighting Matrix in the Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

In the oil sector, various strategies are applied to mitigate harmful effects on the environment. These strategies include, among others, compensation plans, the measurement and control of the carbon footprint and/or water footprint, the recovery of waste from activities and processes, and Environmental Management Systems (EMS). An EMS provides a formal framework that enables more efficient work on environmental issues, thereby improving performance. It aims to raise awareness of the environmental impacts associated with the oil industry in different areas through the use of weighting matrices. Additionally, it seeks to conduct sustainable studies and optimize the direct activities involved in the exploitation of hydrocarbons as a natural resource. Factors considered in decision making include ensuring that the strategy does not compromise the well-being of future generations, has economic viability, and does not hinder any oil sector activities such as exploration, drilling, production, or processing of derivatives. The purpose of this is that it allows for the creation of decision matrices based on weighting methodologies that outline possible correlations between specific activities of the oil sector such as water use, effects on soils and landscapes, greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, liquid effluents, hazardous waste, and toxic waste, among others. The decision matrices can also help elucidate the relationship of these activities with mitigation strategies to provide a decision-making tool for environmental management plans so that activities are implemented in a way that can mitigate impacts on water, soil, and air resources. The results of this study were classified using a traffic light matrix, based on the level of technical congruence, using an optimal (green), regular (yellow), medium (orange), and at-risk (red) scale. The environmental impact of “alteration of the geoform of the land” was positioned in the at-risk category due to its assessment by experts in relation to the activity of “land adaptation”. In the medium category, a total of 23 impacts were identified, while 10 impacts fell into the regular category. These results were evaluated in the context of the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the oil industry.

Review of the environmental and human health impacts of mercury use in gold mining in the Santurban Paramo area

“…The following is a compilation of the environmental, social and economic impacts of gold mining in the Santurban Paramo (Achina-Obeng & Aram, 2022;Alonso, Pérez, Okio, & Castillo, 2020;Basu et al, 2022;Dobler, 2019;Eckley et al, 2020;Garcia, 2013;Guerrero-Martin et al, 2023;Ibañez-Gómez et al, 2022;Mallongi et al, 2020;Mestanza-Ramón et al, 2022; Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible, 2017; Ngom et al, 2022;Oliveira et al, 2021;Quarm, Anning, Fei-Baffoe, Siaw, & Amuah, 2022;Rakhshan, Mansournia, & Kashi, 2023;Ramírez, López, Marrufo, & Barriga, 2023;Ramírez et al, 2022;Salomão et al, 2023;Sousa & Zaitune, 2022;Tampushi, Onyari, & Muthama, 2022) (Table 1 and Figure 5).…”

Environment risk and impact assessment of the use of mercury for gold mining in the Santurban Paramo area, Colombia

“…Fishing activity is therefore significantly affected by the accumulation of mercury in the tissue(Guerrero-Martin et al, 2023;Ortega-Ramírez, Angulo-De Castro, Becerra, Gómez Caipa, & Huerta-Quiñones, 2022;Ortega-Ramírez et al, 2020;Ortega-Ramirez, Torres-López, Silva- Marrufo, & Moreno-Barriga, 2023;Ramírez et al, 2022). There is a need to carry out mercury remediation and recovery activities to reduce the spread of mercury in the environment and thus improve the state of the nearby ecosystem and restore territory deteriorated by the gold mining process in the Santurban Paramo.…”