Risk-Based Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Waste Handling Practices in the Arctic Drilling Operation

Author(s):  
Y. Z. Ayele ◽  
A. Barabadi ◽  
E. L. Droguett

As oil and gas companies in the Arctic attempt to maximize the value of each project and optimize their portfolio of investment opportunities, it has become vital to evaluate drilling waste handling practices for their cost-effectiveness in order to support strategic decisions. Identifying cost-effective waste handling practices, which have a minimal environmental footprint, however, is one of the biggest challenges for Arctic offshore industries. The cost and potential risks of drilling waste handling practices in the Arctic offshore operation will differ vastly, depending on the operating environment such as the ice conditions and negative sea temperature. However, in the majority of the available cost-effectiveness and risk analysis literature, the influence of the operating environment on the cost and risk profile has received less attention. Hence, the aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for risk-based cost-effectiveness analysis (RB–CEA) of drilling waste handling practices by considering the complex and fast-changing nature of the Arctic. The central thrust of this paper is to highlight the fact that comparing different alternatives based on the cost elements alone is misleading. The proposed methodology uses risk assessment as a key component for the cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by a case study of the drilling waste handling practices of an oil field in the Barents Sea. The case study results demonstrate that the operating environment causes costs to be between 1.18 and 1.52 times greater, depending on the type of practices and operating season, in the Arctic offshore compared with the North Sea. Further, the risk of undesirable events is between 1.48 and 2.60 times greater during waste handling activities under Arctic operational conditions.

Author(s):  
Yonas Zewdu Ayele ◽  
Javad Barabady ◽  
Enrique Lopez Droguett

The increased complexity of Arctic offshore drilling waste handling facilities, coupled with stringent regulatory requirements such as zero “hazardous” discharge, calls for rigorous risk management practices. To assess and quantify risks from offshore drilling waste handling practices, a number of methods and models are developed. Most of the conventional risk assessment approaches are, however, broad, holistic, practical guides or roadmaps developed for off-the-shelf systems, for non-Arctic offshore operations. To avoid the inadequacies of traditional risk assessment approaches and to manage the major risk elements connected with the handling of drilling waste, this paper proposes a risk assessment methodology for Arctic offshore drilling waste handling practices based on the dynamic Bayesian network (DBN). The proposed risk methodology combines prior operating environment information with actual observed data from weather forecasting to predict the future potential hazards and/or risks. The methodology continuously updates the potential risks based on the current risk influencing factors (RIF) such as snowstorms, and atmospheric and sea spray icing information. The application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by a drilling waste handling scenario case study for an oil field development project in the Barents Sea, Norway. The case study results show that the risk of undesirable events in the Arctic is 4.2 times more likely to be high (unacceptable) environmental risk than the risk of events in the North Sea. Further, the Arctic environment has the potential to cause high rates of waste handling system failure; these are between 50 and 85%, depending on the type of system and operating season.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982110268
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Acevedo ◽  
Ashley C. Hsu ◽  
Jeffrey C. Yu ◽  
Dale H. Rice ◽  
Daniel I. Kwon ◽  
...  

Objective To compare the cost-effectiveness of sialendoscopy with gland excision for the management of submandibular gland sialolithiasis. Study Design Cost-effectiveness analysis. Setting Outpatient surgery centers. Methods A Markov decision model compared the cost-effectiveness of sialendoscopy versus gland excision for managing submandibular gland sialolithiasis. Surgical outcome probabilities were found in the primary literature. The quality of life of patients was represented by health utilities, and costs were estimated from a third-party payer’s perspective. The effectiveness of each intervention was measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The incremental costs and effectiveness of each intervention were compared, and a willingness-to-pay ratio of $150,000 per QALY was considered cost-effective. One-way, multivariate, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to challenge model conclusions. Results Over 10 years, sialendoscopy yielded 9.00 QALYs at an average cost of $8306, while gland excision produced 8.94 QALYs at an average cost of $6103. The ICER for sialendoscopy was $36,717 per QALY gained, making sialendoscopy cost-effective by our best estimates. The model was sensitive to the probability of success and the cost of sialendoscopy. Sialendoscopy must meet a probability-of-success threshold of 0.61 (61%) and cost ≤$11,996 to remain cost-effective. A Monte Carlo simulation revealed sialendoscopy to be cost-effective 60% of the time. Conclusion Sialendoscopy appears to be a cost-effective management strategy for sialolithiasis of the submandibular gland when certain thresholds are maintained. Further studies elucidating the clinical factors that determine successful sialendoscopy may be aided by these thresholds as well as future comparisons of novel technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205520762110005
Author(s):  
Cynthia Afedi Hazel ◽  
Sheana Bull ◽  
Elizabeth Greenwell ◽  
Maya Bunik ◽  
Jini Puma ◽  
...  

Objective Evidence backing the effectiveness of mobile health technology is growing, and behavior change communication applications (apps) are fast becoming a useful platform for behavioral health programs. However, data to support the cost-effectiveness of these interventions are limited. Suggestions for overcoming the low output of economic data include addressing the methodological challenges for conducting cost-effectiveness analysis of behavior change app programs. This study is a systematic review of cost-effectiveness analyses of behavior change communication apps and a documentation of the reported challenges for investigating their cost-effectiveness. Materials and methods Four academic databases: Medline (Ovid), CINAHL, EMBASE and Google Scholar, were searched. Eligibility criteria included original articles that use a cost-effectiveness evaluation method, published between 2008 and 2018, and in the English language. Results Out of the 60 potentially eligible studies, 6 used cost-effectiveness analysis method and met the inclusion criteria. Conclusion The evidence to support the cost-effectiveness of behavior change communication apps is insufficient, with all studies reporting significant study challenges for estimating program costs and outcomes. The main challenges included limited or lack of cost data, inappropriate cost measures, difficulty with identifying and quantifying app effectiveness, representing app effects as Quality-adjusted Life Years, and aggregating cost and effects into a single quantitative measure like Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio. These challenges highlight the need for comprehensive economic evaluation methods that balance app data quality issues with practical concerns. This would likely improve the usefulness of cost-effectiveness data for decisions on adoption, implementation, scalability, sustainability, and the benefits of broader healthcare investments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (5) ◽  
pp. 818-824

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) causes blindness of the population in many countries worldwide. Early detection and treatment of this disease via a DR screening program is the best way to secure the vision. An annual screening program using pharmacological pupil dilatation becomes the standard method. Recently, non-mydriatic ultrawide-field fundus photography (UWF) has been proposed as a choice for DR screening. However, there was no cost-effectiveness study between the standard DR screening and this UWF approach. Objective: To compare the cost-effectiveness between UWF and pharmacological pupil dilatation in terms of hospital and societal perspectives. Materials and Methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus that visited the ophthalmology clinic at Chulabhorn Hospital for DR screening were randomized using simple randomization method. The patients were interviewed by a trained interviewer for general and economic information. The clinical characteristics of DR and staging were recorded. Direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and informal care costs due to DR screening were recorded. Cost analyses were calculated for the hospital and societal perspectives. Results: The present study presented the cost-effectiveness analyses of UWF versus pharmacological pupil dilatation. Cost-effectiveness analysis from the hospital perspective showed the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of UWF to be –13.87. UWF was a cost-effective mean in DR screening in the societal perspective when compared with pharmacologically pupil dilatation with the ICER of 76.46, under the threshold of willingness to pay. Conclusion: The UWF was a cost-effective mean in DR screening. It can reduce screening duration and bypass post-screening blurred vision. The results suggested that UWF could be a viable option for DR screening. Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy, Diabetic retinopathy screening, Non-mydriatic ultrawide-field fundus photography, Cost-effectiveness analysis


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document