Digital technology risk reduction mechanisms to enhance ecological and human safety in the northern sea route for oil and gas companies

Abstract

Climate change has removed large quantities of ice and has removed impediments to Arctic sea navigation and in doing so has opened up a new route. Most of these ice-free routes can be used for navigation including oil and gas logistics and transportation and reducing transit by more than 5000 nautical miles. While these events allow for a widening of transportation routes but many challenges naturally inherent to the Arctic are still present, for example, the risk of possible oil spills in the very sensitive ecosystem and the safety risks to crew and equipment. New Technology offers more thorough ways to minimize and manage this risk and to preserve the integrity of ecosystems, safety of people and the profits of companies where operations are more cost sensitive and difficult than in other regions of the world. This paper proposes one model of risk reduction and evaluates the best ways to reduce ecological and safety risks of oil and gas companies operating in the Arctic route. It also proposes methods to incorporate digital value into the organization through four sectors, Sustainability, Efficiency, Accountability and Profitability.