Drilling engineering. Towards achieving total sustainability / Инженерно-геологическое бурение. К достижению полной устойчивости

Not long ago, any sustainable operation in the context of petroleum engineering was considered to be an absurd notion (Khan and Islam, 2007). Even today, the way the term “sustainability” is used it makes it difficult to talk about petroleum operations and sustainability in the same vein. From the 1973 Arab oil embargo onward, when cheap oil became
a thing of the past, there has been a sustained campaign against fossil fuel in general and oil and gas in particular. Then came Al Gore’s “saving the planet from Carbon” awakening. The Greenpeace movement designated carbon as an existential threat to the current civilization. Meanwhile, Enrondthe most “innovative energy management” companydturned out to be a fraud. Even Republican president, George, chimed in to castigate humanity with the “oil addiction” line. That “Carbon is the enemy” mantra spread like wildfire and imposing  universal carbon tax reached global pitch. Up until today, the world is convinced that petroleum consumption should be minimized, the oil price should be low, and replacement of petroleum should be subsidized. So, what is left for petroleum engineers to do other than folding shops and hiding behind an alternate fuel “wall”? If it were not for the opening up of unconventional oil and gas that gave rise to unprecedented surge in oil and gas production in the United States and equally important surge in global reserve in terms of heavy oil and tar sand, no book on sustainable petroleum drilling would see the light of the day. It is because of this unprecedented surge in petroleum activities, along with renewed focus on environmental sustainability, that a book of current title is necessary and timely. Drilling being the most important and likely the costliest part of a petroleum operation, sustainability must begin with drilling. This book is about rendering drilling operations sustainable. This book will be useful for both the energy sector and the environmental restoration/remediation sector. <...>