Volume 39, Issue 12, December 2011, Pages 7719–7725
Clean Cooking Fuels and Technologies in Developing Economies
Edited By Shonali Pachauri, Hisham Zerriffi, Wesley Foell and Daniel Spreng
Global climate change implications for coastal and offshore oil and gas development
- U.S. Geological Survey, USGS Chief Scientist for Climate and Land Use Change, 540 North Courthouse Street, Many, LA 71449, USA
- Received 3 December 2010, Accepted 10 September 2011, Available online 22 October 2011
Abstract
The discussion and debate about climate change and oil and gas resource development has generally focused on how fossil fuel use affects the Earth's climate. This paper explores how the changing climate is likely to affect oil and gas operations in low-lying coastal areas and the outer continental shelf. Oil and gas production in these regions comprises a large sector of the economies of many energy producing nations. Six key climate change drivers in coastal and marine regions are characterized with respect to oil and gas development: changes in carbon dioxide levels and ocean acidity, air and water temperature, precipitation patterns, the rate of sea level rise, storm intensity, and wave regime. These key drivers have the potential to independently and cumulatively affect coastal and offshore oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation, and several impacts of climate change have already been observed in North America.
Highlights
► Climate change effects on coastal and offshore energy development have been observed in some regions. ► Key drivers include changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level rise, storm intensity and wave regime. ► These can independently and cumulatively affect coastal and offshore exploration, production, and transportation. ► A methodical vulnerability and impact assessment is needed to support adaptation in this sector of the global economy.
Keywords
- Climate change;
- Oil and gas development;
- Coastal infrastructure
Published by Elsevier Ltd.
