Multicriteria analysis of methane mitigation options on offshore oil and gas production platforms

Abstract

Abstract The oil and gas exploration and production sector are one of the most significant methane emitters through fossil fuel combustion and fugitive emissions. In Brazil, there are few studies focused on the mitigation of methane in the oil sector. The objective of the present work is to use a multicriteria analysis methodology to compare different methane mitigation technologies applicable to offshore oil and gas platforms. In the study, six different mitigation options were compared through the analytic hierarchy process methodology, considering environmental, financial and operational criteria. The results were calculated for each mitigation option considering the scores of each criterion and their respective relative weights, obtained in the prioritization of the elements. This unique score obtained through the analytic hierarchy process made it possible to compare the mitigation alternatives. The alternative that received the best score considering the evaluated criteria was the recovery of vapor from cargo tanks associated with methane reuse, being highlighted mainly due to its high potential for mitigation.