Analysis of Oil Spills in the Ancon Field Using Geographic Information Systems

Abstract

The oil industry in Ecuador started in 1911 with the drilling of an exploratory well ANC001, located in the Gustavo Galindo Velasco block (known as Ancon Field); becoming the first oil field with more than 100 years of production. The development of this industry has brought economic benefits for the development of the country; however, it is tied to activities that have caused serious impacts on the environment such as oil spills. In this investigation, operations carried out by the operating company are analyzed, areas with a higher probability of the occurrence of spills are determined, causes and effects are analyzed, vulnerable areas are identified and alternatives are proposed to reduce response times. The tool used as methodology is Geographic Information Systems, software that helps to manage the prevention and control of spills, through the generation of maps. As results, 297 spills and 6 areas with high probability of these events were identified. Most of them are due to the lack of preventive and effective maintenance of the equipment and facilities and the use of manually operated crude oil extraction mechanisms. Finally, with the suggested alternative using optimal routes, the response time can be improved by an average of 20 minutes.