Journal of Electrical & Electronic Systems

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the byproduct generated and emitted from Ethylene Glycol (EG) plant by catalytic oxidation of ethylene to produce Ethylene oxide and CO2. CO2 is known feedstock in production of urea & methanol and it is also greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributor to climate change. Annual worldwide emission of the GHG now exceeds 30billiontones, which is exceeding gradually .With this regards, UNITED initiated the practical solution & implementation to convert the huge raw CO2 emission into useful, valuable and high-grade/food-grade product. Leading to remarkable improvement and contribution towards environmental aspects and sustainability

This is first prototype plant, where EG raw CO2 by-product convert to food grade CO2. For such a great novelty, the numbers of challenges were faced from concept until sustainable operation. The innovative concept, reliable & valuable engineering with the safe, effective & productive construction and startup with sustainable operation were challenges of this plant. The raw CO2 from the vent gas is captured and purified to required purity level (per European Industrial Gases Association specification) exceeding the highest food grade requirement.

The plant is design to compress and purify around 1,500 tons per day of raw carbon dioxide. Plant is capable to produce both gaseous and liquid food grade CO2.The CO2 production positive contribution is ultimately improve the Sustainability of UNITED, SABIC and KSA. Those figures are in GHG reduction more than 19.7%, energy reduction more than 11%, water reduction more than 10.6% and material effectiveness more than59.1%. This is the major carbon capture and utilization (CCU) plant, where such huge amount of CO2 can captureandproduceinvaluable&profitableproduct.ThereductionofCO2emissionsisanimportant aim of SABIC's sustainability strategy. In summary, an estimated more than 500,000 tons/year of CO2 emissions will be saved with more than 10 million of earning per year to sell CO2 as valuable product. Industry faces a significant challenge to reduce current levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to comply with upcoming legislation. Public pressure for reduced GHG emissions from industry has intensified in recent years, and industrial plant owners are now accelerating their efforts to minimize these emissions from their facilities. Scientists believe that anthropogenic (man-made) carbon dioxide (CO2) makes a larger contribution to global warming than other industrial gases.  Refinery and petrochemical facilities are now seeking cost-effective methods of capturing this gas and sequestering it in geologic formations.

Since the market for use of CO2 is very small, there is a need for storage of this gas. In order to bring a significant benefit to the environment, large quantities of CO2 need to be captured and stored. Accordingly, CO2 capture and transport will require the construction of large diameter, dedicated pipelines. As an example, a 400 MW coal-fired plant can produce up to 8000 tons/day of CO2. With several thousand of these plants worldwide, the opportunity exists to capture and transport substantial amounts of CO2, should these plants install capture facilities. Since CO2 has been used in beverages for many years, the public’s perception is that this gas is relatively safe to transport. This belief leads to the perception that CO2 can be processed and pipelined with no risk to people. In fact, because of this perception and because of the large quantities of this gas in transport, the consequences of potential CO2 pipeline accidents are of significant concern. There is a need for more strict regulations governing CO2 pipelines than those for natural gas pipelines.

CO2 can be fatal to humans and animals, partly due to suffocation. It also produces dangerous physiological effects when present in high levels in the blood stream. Either one of these factors, or both, can cause fatalities. The permissible exposure limit (PEL) for this gas is 5000 ppm per OSHA guidelines, and 40 000 ppm (4%) is considered to be immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH).

A volcanic lake, Lake Nyos, in Cameroon presented recent proof of the danger created by CO2 release when gas from the bottom of this ancient lake travelled down a valley, killing approximately 1800 people and many animals in a very short period. Naturally occurring CO2 in mountainous regions can also be dangerous to hikers and skiers in these areas. Some incidents related to the food and beverage industry have been reported that were a consequence of exposure to high levels of CO2. Therefore, this gas needs to be handled and transported with a full understanding of the danger it poses, and the public needs to be adequately informed of its potential dangers.

There appears to be no recorded fatalities directly attributable to the failure of CO2 pipelines. Acid gas injection (CO2 and H2S) has been practiced in Western Canada for a number of years and no major safety issues have been reported for these small pipelines, due to good design and operating practices being implemented by the owners. However, if future CO2 pipelines become as common and extensive as natural gas pipelines, similar failure statistics as for natural gas pipelines would be expected and applicable. The consequences of failure would be much more severe due to the large inventory transport without adequate dispersion mechanisms for the escaped gas. Natural gas pipeline ruptures lead to escape of the gas upwards, due to its lower than air density, and may ignite on rupture, thereby burning the released gas. However, CO2 cannot be burned and it will disperse quickly and collect in nearby depressions, which may store this gas for extended periods until wind disperses it or vegetation absorbs it.

One of the easiest and least technically challenging ways of increasing oil recovery from a pressure depleted hydrocarbon reservoir is low salinity water flooding (LSW). Contemporary studies have shown that LSW has the potential to improve oil recovery by 5-12% when initiated in sandstone reservoirs. The use of low-salinity water flooding is also recommended for shaly-sandstones as the salt present in the water mitigates the swelling in shale. However, salt has a tendency to crystallize and this may block pore channels, in effect, reducing oil recovery. Thus, researchers are currently investigating the composition of low salinity water as per need; the resulting injection water is referred to as smart water.

The aim of this study was to investigate the injection of CO₂along with smart water in a depleted oil reservoir. This will sequester away the harmful CO₂in the subsurface. CO₂ lowers the density & viscosity of oil which makes making it easier to flow and improve oil recovery.CO₂ and LSWAG (Low salinity water alternating gas) has a great probability of influencing oil production positively in shaly-sandstones as injected LSW will reduce shale swelling and CO₂ will make the oil flow easily.

All oil recovery experiments were conducted with a synthetic porous media of silica materials of size 200-380 µm. Shale of size 40-60 µm was used in specified quantity to induce shaliness in the sand-pack. The quantity of shale was gradually be increased in the sand-pack till the sand-pack takes the behavior of a shale reservoir (i.e. permeability reduces to less than 1 md). This was followed by the injection of smart water and CO₂ would be carried out in the sand-pack and the resultant oil recoveries were tabulated.

The composition of salts in the smart water was then altered and the resultant oil recovery was noted. To ascertain the role of dissolved ions in the smart water on oil recovery, an ion composition study of the injected water at both the inlet and outlet will be performed and the difference plotted for analysis.  From these tests, it became evident that modifying salt concentration has an effect on oil recovery and the resulting smart water injection, improved oil recovery by a margin of 5% of OOIP (original oil in place) when compared to low-salinity water and by 12% over conventional water-flooding.

Gas injection process for more oil recovery and in particular CO2 injection is well-established method to increment oil recovery from underground oil reservoirs. CO2 sequestration which takes place during this enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method has positive impact on reducing the greenhouse gas emission which causes global warming. Direct gas injection into depleted oil reservoirs, encounters several shortcomings such as low volumetric sweep efficiency, early breakthrough (BT) and high risk of gas leakage in naturally fractured carbonate oil reservoirs. Carbonated water injection (CWI) has been recently proposed as an alternative method to alleviate the problems associated with gas injection. In this paper, the results of extensive experimental tests of ultimate oil recovery efficiency as both secondary and tertiary CWI tests and their CO2 storage capacity for an Iranian carbonate reservoir are presented. Besides, the CWI recovery efficiencies are compared with traditional water flooding (WF) test. The results showed that higher ultimate oil recovery is achieved when carbonated water is injected as secondary technique compared to tertiary process. The results showed 40.54% and 56.74% more oil recovery during tertiary carbonated water injection (TCWI) and secondary water injection (SCWI) compared to the corresponding water flooding, respectively. However, the CO2 storage capacities for both TCWI and SCWI cases were almost the same, as it was measured to be more than half of the total delivered CO2.

Low-salinity water flooding (LSW) is a promising new technique for enhancing oil recovery (EOR) in both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. The potential of LSW has drawn the attention of the oil industry in the past decade. Along with the few successful field applications of LSW, various studies in this field in recent years have been conducted mainly at the lab scale. The main objective of this critical review was to investigate the potential of this EOR technique in improving oil recovery and the mechanism under which it operates. As a result, various mechanisms have been proposed. However, no consensus on the dominant mechanism(s) in neither sandstones nor carbonate reservoirs has been reported, and the oil industry is continuing to discover the leading effects. Herein, we provide the chronicle of LSW, analysis of the proposed mechanisms of enhancing oil recovery using LSW in recent findings, some laboratory observations, and finally, some successful field applications. From this review, despite the promising potential justified by both laboratory studies and field applications, there exist a large number of unsuccessful field case studies. LSW is viewed as an immature EOR technique with many ambiguities because definitive conclusions about which mechanism(s) is responsible for improving oil recovery remains elusive and bewilderment to the oil industry.

Nowadays, geological and reservoir models are essential tools used for the design and the optimization of oil and gas field development. At the same time, building reservoir model is technically complex and requires nontrivial approaches and solutions. This paper describes the experience of using modeling to support drilling and development optimization of one of the most complex reservoirs in Gulf of Suez. A distinctive feature of the publication is a compilation of tools of geological and simulation modeling, including experience in dealing with applications for the period from the start of field development to the end of production in addition to different development alternatives which helped in achieving the maximum hydrocarbon production.

Approaches to the building of geological and simulation models of a complex productive formation are described. These models incorporate a large number of different facies data, which was used to manage uncertainties and risks accompanied with the field development. This paper sheds light on significance of integration between Geological and Dynamic data, which helped a lot in managing key uncertainties and risks by generating different development scenarios and applying different options.

Finally, the model was used to propose a full realization for developing the field and increase the oil production. GUPCO is one of the largest E&P Companies in Egypt and Middle East. It has a vast infrastructure with a large number of wells, platforms, pipelines and offshore facilities. GUPCO's peak production exceeded 600,000 BOPD in 1983 while it produces around 100,000 BOEPD today from more than ten geological formations in Gulf of Suez (GoS). GUPCO produced more than 4.6 billion STBO which represent more than 43% of Egypt's total cumulative oil to date. And in spite of that, we still have many opportunities and success yet to achieve. As one of the petroleum industry leaders, GUPCO was and will always seek success and excellence in managing its assets. For more than fifty years, GUPCO used to follow the highest standards available in petroleum industry, and applied them in all areas to achieve that outstanding excellence. From day one, GUPCO realized that understanding subsurface features and optimizing recovery from different fields are the key areas among all. As a result, GUPCO had made concerted efforts in those areas in specific.

Managing giant fields is not an easy task; it requires special knowledge and experience to manage such critical asset since each 1% increment of oil recovery means tens of millions of oil barrels. And because GUPCO has four giant fields, it was serious for us to do our best to maximize their value. GUPCO started that early whilst exploration phase, appraisal, development and currently in maturity phase. Along these different phases, we utilized wide spectrum of tools starting from basic technical elements (e.g. flow equations, DCA, MBE, PTA… etc.) reaching to state-of-the-art techniques and technology available (e.g. Numerical Modeling, Artificial Intelligence and EOR) at which GUPCO uses numerical reservoir simulation extensively, utilizes neural network in different applications, and already applied TAP (Thermally-Activated Particles) technique which is called commercially BrightWater^® to improve sweeping efficiency, and also studied feasibility of Low Salinity Waterflooding  which is planned to be implemented in near future after upgrading water injection facilities.

Well integrity represents an objective/solution for protecting human life and environment while retaining oil production rate during the life of the well. Characterization of cement behavior plays an important role in ensuring the well integrity and can be effectively considered when it comes to the prevention of casing failure. In this research, firstly, petrophysical data at one of the wells drilled into Maroon Oilfield in southwest of Iran was used to build a one-dimensional geomechanical model of the formation encompassing the well, based on which geomechanical characteristics of the formation were estimated. Subsequently, mechanical parameters of the cement sheath used in the considered well and the friction parameters of the cement-formation contact surface were determined via laboratory tests on samples of the cement. Next, using the obtained data and considering the environmental conditions in the well, a reference numerical model was constructed for a particular section of the studied well utilizing ABAQUS Software followed by analyzing the wellbore stability under existing conditions. Finally, sensitivity analysis and parametric studies were performed to investigate the impact of friction parameters of contact surfaces, and mechanical properties of the cement on the well integrity. The results indicated that, higher Young's modulus and/or lower Poisson's ratio, cohesion, and friction angle in the cement sheath further contributed to larger plastic strains in the sheath. Moreover, with increasing the friction of formation-cement and cement-casing contact surfaces, plastic strain of the cement was observed to decrease. In the parametric analysis, the coefficient of friction between cement-formation and cement-casing has decreased by about 45% and 60%, respectively, and the amount of PEEQ in cement increases by up to 30â?¯mm.

Supramolecular hydrogels have attracted increasing interest in recent years because of their ability to incorporate high levels of proteins, cells, antibodies, peptides and genes [1-2]. In this work, we propose a new approach to confinement of Candida Antarctica lipase B (CALB) within a supramolecular silicified hydrogel based on Pluronic F127 and α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) [3]. After functionalization of the matrix, the catalytic performance of the supported biocatalyst was evaluated in the oxidation of 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a fully biosourced alternative to terephthalic acid used in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) [4]. Our results revealed that while CALB immobilized in conventional sol-gel silica yielded exclusively 5-formylfuran-2-carboxylic acid (FFCA), confinement of the enzyme in the silicified hydrogel imparted a 5-fold increase in DFF conversion and afforded 67% FDCA yield in 7 h and almost quantitative yields in less than 24 h. The hierarchically interconnected pore structure of the host matrix was found to provide a readily accessible diffusion path for reactants and products, while its flexible hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface was extremely beneficial for the interfacial activation of the immobilized lipase.

Supramolecular hydrogels with a three-dimensional cross-linked macromolecular network have attracted growing scientific interest in recent years because of their ability to incorporate high loadings of bioactive molecules such as drugs, proteins, antibodies, peptides, and genes. Herein, we report a versatile approach for the confinement of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) within a silica-strengthened cyclodextrin-derived Supramolecular hydrogel and demonstrate its potential application in the selective oxidation of 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) under mild conditions. The enzymatic nanoreactor was deeply characterized using thermo gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N₂-adsorption, dynamic light scattering, UV–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, while the reaction products were established on the basis of ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with high-performance liquid chromatography. Our results revealed that while CALB immobilized in conventional sol–gel silica yielded exclusively 5-formylfuran-2-carboxylic acid (FFCA), confinement of the enzyme in the silicified hydrogel imparted a 5-fold increase in DFF conversion and afforded 67% FDCA yield in 7 h and almost quantitative yields in less than 24 h. The hierarchically interconnected pore structure of the host matrix was found to provide a readily accessible diffusion path for reactants and products, while its flexible hydrophilic–hydrophobic interface was extremely beneficial for the interfacial activation of the immobilized lipase.

In this study, Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was immobilized onto ECR1030 resin and the obtained immobilized preparation was used for the synthesis of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich triacylglycerols (TAG). The immobilization process was systematically studied. Under the optimized conditions, the immobilized preparation of ECR1030-CALB with an esterification activity of 10058 U/g was obtained, which was comparable with the commercially available Novozym 435. Confocal microscopy images showed that CALB diffused from the surface to the center of carrier during immobilization. The basic properties of ECR1030-CALB were also investigated and it was found that the thermostability, acidic and alkaline stability, and organic solvent tolerance of ECR1030-CALB were comparable with Novozym 435. Interestingly, ECR1030-CALB showed significantly higher specificity towards EPA and DHA compared with Novozym 435, which made it suitable for the synthesis of n-3 PUFA-rich TAG. The TAG content of 74.05% was obtained under the optimized conditions, which was slightly higher than that (73.68%) obtained by Novozym 435. This is the first study for systematically studying the immobilization process of lipase using ECR1030 resin as carrier. Overall, the prepared ECR1030-CALB with excellent esterification activity, basic properties, and catalytic performance might be a promising alternative to commercial Novozym 435. Practical applications: A previous study found that ECR1030 resin was a robust and promising carrier for the immobilization of CALB. However, the detailed immobilization conditions, the basic properties, and catalytic performance of the immobilized preparations using ECR1030 resin as carrier are still unknown. Consequently, knowledge of the above unknown information for the immobilization of CALB using ECR1030 resin as carrier is of great importance for their further practical applications in lipid chemistry.

Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was immobilized on the macro porous resin by physical adsorption in organic medium. The immobilization was performed in 5 mL isooctane, and the immobilization conditions were optimized. The results were achieved with the mass ratio of lipase to support 1:80, the buffer of pH 6.0, initial addition of PBS 75 microL, and immobilization time of two hours at 30 degrees C. Under the optimal conditions, the activity recovery was 83.3%. IM-CALB presented enhanced pH and thermal stability compared to the free lipase, and showed comparable stability with the commercial Novozym 435, after 7 times repeated use for catalyzing the synthesis of ethyl lactate, 56.9% of its initial activity was retained, and only 24.7% was retained when used for catalyzing the hydrolysis of olive oil.

As the main component of lignocelluloses, cellulose is a biopolymer consisting of many glucose units connected through β-1, 4-glycosidic bonds. Breakage of the β-1, 4-glycosidic bonds by acids leads to the hydrolysis of cellulose polymers, resulting in the sugar molecule glucose or oligosaccharides. Mineral acids, such as HCl and H₂SO4, have been used in the hydrolysis of cellulose. However, they suffer from problems of product separation, reactor corrosion, poor catalyst recyclability and the need for treatment of waste effluent. The use of heterogeneous solid acids can solve some of these problems through the ease of product separation and good catalyst recyclability. This study deals with recent advances in the hydrolysis of cellulose by sulfonated carbonaceous based solid acids. The acid strength, acid site density, adsorption of the substance and micro pores of the solid material are all key factors for effective hydrolysis processes. Methods used to promote reaction efficiency such as the pretreatment of cellulose to reduce its crystallinity and the use of ionic liquids or microwave irradiation to improve the reaction rate are also discussed.

The study aimed to evaluate sugarcane bagasse as roughage in lactating cow on feed intake, digestibility, ingestive behavior, milk production and composition, and microbial protein synthesis. Ten Girolando cows at initial body weight of 450±25.6 kg and at 143.7±30.7 days in milk were assigned in two 5×5 Latin square designs. Five 21-day experimental periods were adopted (1° to 14-day: diets adaptation period; 15° to 21-day: data collection and sampling period). The diets consisted of four different levels of sugarcane bagasse (45%, 50%, 55%, and 60%) and a control diet, commonly adopted in the region, based on spineless cactus (25% sugarcane bagasse), formulated to meet 12 kg/d milk yield. The dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), and total digestible nutrients intakes and DM and OM digestibilities observed for 45% and 50% bagasse inclusion were similar to control diet, while that 55% and 60% bagasse inclusion were lower. Cows fed control diet, and bagasse diets of 45%, and 50% levels had the nutritional requirements attended, that guaranteed 12 kg/d of milk yield. The crude protein intake and digestibility of cows fed 45%, 50%, and 55% of bagasse inclusion were similar to control diet. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) intake and digestibility differ for all bagasse diets related to control diet, while the non-fiber carbohydrates intake and digestibility for cows fed 45% of bagasse were similar for control diet. The intakes and digestibilities of nutrients decreased linearly in function of bagasse inclusion; NDF and indigestible NDF intakes did not vary. The ruminating time, feeding and rumination efficiency, microbial protein synthesis and milk yield decreased linearly with sugarcane bagasse inclusion. 

Sugarcane bagasse decreases milk production; however, its inclusion level in between 45% to 50% associated to concentrate could replace diets based on spineless cactus for crossbred dairy cow's producing 12 kg/d of milk.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of alkaline-treated sugarcane bagasse fiber on physicochemical and textural properties of meat emulsion with different fat levels. Crude sugarcane bagasse fiber (CSF) was treated with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH2)) to obtain alkaline-treated sugarcane bagasse fiber (ASF). The two types of sugarcane bagasse fiber (CSF and ASF) were incorporated at 2% levels in pork meat emulsions prepared with 5%, 10% and 20% fat levels. Alkaline-treatment markedly increased acid detergent fiber content (p=0.002), but significantly decreased protein, fat, ash and other carbohydrate contents. ASF exhibited significantly higher water-binding capacity, but lower oil-binding and emulsifying capacities than CSF. Meat emulsions formulated with 10% fat and 2% sugarcane bagasse fiber had equivalent cooking loss and textural properties to control meat emulsion (20% fat without sugarcane bagasse fiber). The two types of sugarcane bagasse fiber had similar impacts on proximate composition, cooking yield and texture of meat emulsion at the same fat level, respectively (p>0.05).

Our results confirm that sugarcane bagasse fiber could be a functional food ingredient for improving physicochemical and textural properties of meat emulsion, at 2% addition level. Further, the altered functional properties of alkaline-treated sugarcane bagasse fiber had no impacts on physicochemical and textural properties of meat emulsions, regardless of fat level at 5%, 10% and 20%.

Cellulosic ethanol is a renewable source of energy. Lignocellulosic biomass is a complex material composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Biomass pretreatment is a required step to make sugar polymers liable to hydrolysis. Mineral acids are commonly used for biomass pretreatment. Using acid catalysts that can be recovered and reused could make the process economically more attractive. The overall goal of this dissertation is the development of a recyclable nanocatalyst for the hydrolysis of biomass sugars. Cobalt iron oxide nanoparticles (CoFe2O4) were synthesized to provide a magnetic core that could be separated from reaction using a magnetic field and modified to carry acid functional groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystal structure was that of cobalt spinel ferrite.

CoFe2O4 were covered with silica which served as linker for the acid functions. Silica-coated nanoparticles were functionalized with three different acid functions: perfluoropropyl-sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid, and propyl-sulfonic acid. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images were analyzed to obtain particle size distributions of the nanoparticles. Total carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur were quantified using an elemental analyzer. Fourier transform infra-red spectra confirmed the presence of sulfonic and carboxylic acid functions and ion-exchange titrations accounted for the total amount of catalytic acid sites per nanoparticle mass. These nanoparticles were evaluated for their performance to hydrolyze the beta-1,4 glycosidic bond of the cellobiose molecule. Propyl-sulfonic (PS) and perfluoropropyl-sulfonic(PFS) acid functionalized nanoparticles catalyzed the hydrolysis of cellobiose significantly better than the control. PS and PFS were also evaluated for their capacity to solubilize wheat straw hemicelluloses and performed better than the control. 

The title of presentation consist of petroleum engineering industries, sustainability and poverty were studied to find out the role of petroleum engineering industries which is the most powerful and sustainable tool for the reduction of global poverty and hunger in the world. Petroleum means rock oil, inflammable liquid found in the earth. Petroleum is made into paraffin, petrol, oil, gasoline and a great many other products. Sustainability is the ability or capacity of something to be maintained or sustain itself. If any activity is said to be sustainable, it should be able to continue forever. In other words, petroleum engineering is the study of how to locate and extract energy resources, such as oil and natural gas, from the earth. Similarly Petroleum engineers divide themselves into several types: Reservoir engineers work to optimize production of oil and gas via proper placement, production rates, and enhanced oil recovery techniques.Drilling engineers manage the technical aspects of drilling exploratory, production and injection wells. Production engineers, including  subsurface engineers, manage the interface between the reservoir and the well, including perforations, sand control, downhole flow control, and downhole monitoring equipment; evaluate artificial lift methods; and also select surface equipment that separates the produced fluids (oil, natural gas, and water)..Similarly, the different industries of petroleum engineering absorbing millions of technical and nontechnical people, create employment, generate income which consequently reduced poverty and hunger in the world. Keeping in view the importance of petroleum engineering, it is proposed to commercialize the industries of petroleum engineering of the world as it is the most powerful and sustainable tool for reducing global poverty and hunger in the world.

While the number of people living in extreme poverty has halved since 1990, there are still more than one billion people in the world who struggle to meet their most basic needs. Addressing poverty means also addressing issues of food security, health, education, safety, the environment and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources and other types of services. Poverty is also unevenly distributed between regions, within countries and among groups such as women and indigenous peoples. SDG1 is a commitment to ending poverty by 2030, which will entail an integrated approach to addressing its causes. Businesses (including the oil and gas industry) can play an important role, as private sector investment far exceeds foreign aid in many developing countries. As well as their principle role supplying reliable affordable energy, oil and gas companies also contribute social investments and make substantial tax and other types of revenue payment to host governments. The industry, therefore, has an important role to play in addressing a variety of environmental, social and health challenges (including those related to climate change) and this can have significant implications for poverty reduction. Access to basic services including reliable, affordable, sustainable and modern energy is essential to ending poverty. There is a strong correlation between increased energy use and the type of economic growth that reduces income poverty. The poor consume less energy, but spend a higher proportion of their income on it. They also typically rely on inefficient and unsustainable use of traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal and animal waste. Improved access to energy can provide indispensable support to the goal of poverty eradication by increasing productivity and encouraging business enterprise.

Direct local employment in developing countries can be more challenging due to the level of specialization required and the limited availability of suitably skilled workers. However, oil and gas ventures can still be leveraged to provide meaningful indirect employment opportunities and economic growth by integrating local businesses into their supply chains. Inclusive recruitment and hiring practices, and investments in skills development, with attention paid to respecting human rights in communities, can help reduce poverty. In addition, oil and gas companies can further support poverty eradication through well-planned social investment activities.

Community development agreements (CDAs) can be an opportunity to support the self-determined economic development of local communities near oil and gas projects. By engaging in a collaborative process with communities to develop CDAs tailored to their specific local contexts and by then entering into formal agreements, companies can ensure local communities benefit from oil and gas projects. In this way, CDAs can help provide the enhanced development cooperation needed to implement anti-poverty programmes.

Petrobras launched its Petrobras Social and Environmental Program in November 2013, with the objective to contribute to sustainable development and to promote rights by investing in social and environmental initiatives that will generate results for both society and the company. The program me integrate social and environmental dimensions and has seven action lines: Inclusive and Sustainable Production, Education, Rights of Children and Adolescents, Sport, Biodiversity and Social Diversity, Forests and Climate, and Water. The programmer addresses crosscutting issues, including gender and racial equity, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and traditional communities. Petrobras evaluates and measures the programmed results by assessing the number of beneficiaries, the number of job opportunities created by the project’s activities, the extent of recovered and protected areas with ecological importance, the number of species studied and protected, and technical and scientific publications. It also stimulates and assesses the partnerships established. Since 2007, the program has benefitted around six million people, generated over 20,000 job opportunities, restored and protected about 700,000 hectares of forest or degraded areas, and contributed to the conservation of more than 700 species of fauna.