Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Industrial and Managements Systems Engineering

Committee Chair

Gary Winn

Committee Co-Chair

Micheal McCawley

Committee Member

Kenneth Currie

Committee Member

Leilly Farrokhvar

Committee Member

Robert Duval

Abstract

Gas flaring is an essential part of the oil and gas industry safety and waste management procedures; however, it presents a potential exposure to BTEX compounds, a group of Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOC), within up to a 10-mile radius of the flare point. The physical and the psychological cost of the journey to work, make employees live close to the workplace. This study examined the perceived exposure of oil and gas industry workers to possible carcinogenic emissions outside the workplace. It looked at the outcomes of the exposure to BTEX through gas flaring drawing on archival data and using Nigeria as a case study. The methodology included a trend analysis, a meta-analysis, and an exposure assessment to develop an incremental excess lifetime cancer (IELCR) risk of the case study population. I developed a cost model for all outcomes, and the sustainability of a green completion strategy for the mitigation of the BTEX exposure through gas flaring is explored. The results showed that the Green completion policy can be employed to reduce the exposure of the oil and gas host communities to BTEX in gas flaring by at least 80% while yielding a Net impact benefit greater than 1 on a 6-year return on investment period.

Download

Share

COinS