Wilson José de Oliveira

Unravelling remote sensing signatures of plants contaminated with gasoline and diesel: An approach using the red edge spectral feature

Pipeline systems used to transport petroleum products represent a potential source of soil pollution worldwide. The design of new techniques that may improve current monitoring of pipeline leakage is imperative. This paper assesses the remote detection of small leakages of liquid hydrocarbons indirectly, through the analysis of spectral features of contaminated plants. Leaf and canopy spectra of healthy plants were compared to spectra of plants contaminated with diesel and gasoline, at increasing rates of soil contamination. Contamination effects were observed both visually in the field and thorough changes in the spectral reflectance patterns of vegetation. Results indicate that the remote detection of small volumes of gasoline and diesel contaminations is feasible based on the red edge analysis of leaf and canopy spectra of plants. Brachiaria grass ranks as a favourable choice to be used as an indicator of HCs leakages along pipelines.

Preliminary Environmental Assessment for the Site Selection for the UTGCA (Gas Treatment Unit for Caraguatatuba - SP)

The Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) at Petrobras consists, in general terms, of an internal technical process, prior to environmental permitting, to verify the environmental feasibility of a project and identify the main environmental issues. It will also add to the future Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIA). The technical guidelines for the PEA are prepared by the multidisciplinary team at the Petrobras Environmental Assessment Engineering Group (EAMB) of ENGENHARIA/IETEG/ETEG and are based on the characteristics of the project. The PEA is one of the elements of the environmental impact assessment, providing an initial assessment of the environmental aspects of the project (Screening). It also supports the assessment and determination of route and location alternatives of pipelines and industrial plants. The UTGCA (Caraguatatuba Gas Treatment Unit) will process gas and condensate from the Mexilhao Field, on Santos Basin – SP. This paper presents the procedures and conclusions of the PEA prepared for the UTGCA project by PETROBRAS/ENGENHARIA/IETEG/ETEG/EAMB.© 2008 ASME

Reflectance and imaging spectroscopy applied to detection of petroleum hydrocarbon pollution in bare soils

Accidental releases of hazardous waste related to the extraction, refining, and transport of oil and gas are inevitable. Petroleum facilities and intrinsic pipelines present environmental pollution risks, threatening both human health and ecosystems. Research has been undertaken to enhance the conventional methods for monitoring hazardous waste problems and to improve time-consuming and cost-effective ways for leak detection and remediation process. In this study, both diffuse and imaging (hyperspectral) reflectance spectroscopy are used for detection and characterization of petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contamination in latosols. Laboratory and field measurements of PHC-contaminated and PHC-free soils were collected from an oil facility using an ASD FieldSpec-3 high-resolution portable spectrometer (2150 channels) covering visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared wavelengths (VNIR-SWIR: 350-2500 nm). The hyperspectral image dataset was acquired with the ProSpecTIR-VS airborne sensor using 357 channels in the VNIR-SWIR range at 1 m of spatial resolution. Narrow intervals of reflectance spectra were analyzed to identify the primary mineral and PHC absorption bands in soil samples and to investigate the spectral match with airborne hyperspectral data. The Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA) method was employed in three hierarchical levels to classify the hyperspectral imagery. The classification product yielded from MESMA model at the fourth level was 98% accurate in discriminating contaminated soils. The results demonstrated the applicability of both diffuse reflectance and imaging (hyperspectral) spectroscopy to identify bare soils contaminated by PHC leaks and spills. These technologies can also provide useful information for remediation initiatives, thereby avoiding further problems with hazardous waste.

Long-term airborne DInSAR measurements: P- and X-band cases

Recently, some experiments demonstrated that reliable DIn-SAR measurements can be achieved at any band and that further time-series analyses can be applied for airborne data. However, most of the airborne DInSAR results, including the time-series, published so far have focused on short-term analyses (baselines within hours or few days). This paper presents the first worldwide airborne DInSAR survey at P- and X-band for measuring the land movements occurred within 1 year and 3 months. The survey was performed by the OrbiSAR system of OrbiSat under contract with Petrobras (CENPES), as part of a experiment with the objective to identify possible threats to the pipeline due to land movements in São Sebastião-SP, Brazil. The measurements at P-band show reliable and coherent movements in 80% of the imaged vegetated areas with accuracy in the order of centimeters. At X-band we were able to reliably measure coherent movements in urban areas with accuracy in the order of millimeters. Through field work evidences, the paper analyses the causes of these small scale land movements, and howthey are related to geodynamic processes. A comparison between the DInSAR and in-loco inclinometer measurements is presented. The paper suggests some possible operational scenarios and discusses on the potential of the airborne DInSAR for land movement monitoring.

The TRANSPETRO Emergency Response System

This paper describes the TRANSPETRO Emergency Response System, developed by PETROBRAS / TRANSPETRO, which is applicable to oils terminals, mostly located in sea or river harbor areas, and a large oil pipeline mesh that spans the Brazilian territory. The engine of the system consists of a distributed workflow management software, called InfoPAE. The software runs locally at each major installation, all connected to a central site. The deployment of the TRANSPETRO Emergency Response System is part of a larger effort to achieve a standard of excellence in the response to emergency situations at each operational unity, including full compliance with environmental regulations set by the federal government.

SAAAP: An Automated Pipeline Routing System

SAAAP — Routing Alternatives Environmental Evaluation System — was designed to select the best alternative route, within an area of interest, to implement a new pipeline project. The system takes into account economic, environmental and engineering factors, according to an optimality criterion that combines several variables, such as vegetation coverage, soil type and declivity. The system is operational and has been tested in several realistic projects.Copyright

Environmental Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment for Osbra Pipeline: A New Approach

Osbra pipeline (Oleoduto Sao Paulo – Brasilia), about 1000 Km long, is one of the main pipelines of Petrobras Transportes S. A. - Transpetro and its function is to carry gasoline, diesel oil, aviation kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas throughout the Center-West region of Brazil. As it crosses several states of Brazil (Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goias) and Federal District (Brasilia), the process of renewal of the environmental license at the federal level required a series of environmental studies. Accordingly, a new study is being performed, considering, in addition to the already consecrated Quantitative Risk Assessment, a new methodology for recognition and analysis of the vulnerable environmental elements along the pipeline right-of-way in what concerns oil spill. This study intends to present the aforementioned methodology according to the following topics: Characterization of the undertaking and of the surrounding region; identification of the notable points; identification of the sensitive environmental elements in the hydrographic basins; Preliminary Hazard Analysis; definition of accident scenarios; dimension of possible leaks along the pipeline right-of-way and their consequences (physical effects); calculation of frequencies; calculation and evaluation of risks (social and individual); classification of environmental sensitivity; contingency actions analysis and conclusions. Development of this work brings as a result a more detailed knowledge of the consequences of an occasional accident arising from pipeline related activities, to the end of preventing and protecting the vulnerable elements (man and environment) along the pipeline right-of-way.Copyright