Subsea oil spill risk management based on sensor networks

• Main Authors: Tabella G., Paltrinieri N., Cozzani V., Rossi P. S.
• Other Authors: Rossi P.S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Oil spill; risk management; detection; Barents Sea; Goliat
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/795111; https://doi.org/10.3303/CET2082034; https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/CET2082032

The use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in support of Dynamic Risk Assessment regarding oil spills still lacks a proper integration. WSNs enable prompt responses to such emergencies through an appropriate inspection, thus avoiding possible larger disasters. This work proposes a methodology for the setup of a WSN as a Leak Detection System in which a Fusion Center collects sensors' binary decisions and provides a more reliable decision about the presence/absence of a leak. The detection rules are based on statistical signal processing techniques, and the choice of the optimal thresholds is made through the optimization of three objective functions tailored to the Oil&Gas industry. Detection performances are assessed in terms of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. The case study is the Goliat FPSO, a production platform located in the Barents Sea, and related requirements dictated by Norwegian authorities to prevent oil spills. The considered WSN monitors the subsea manifolds through passive acoustic sensors.