Khan, M. J. and Islam, M. R. "The Petroleum Engineering Handbook: Sustainable Operations"

The time-honored principle that “nature is infinite” is now being challenged because, all of a sudden we discover that natural resources are depleting despite a decline in population in the industrialized world. We discover natural resources are not enough to sustain human civilization.
Is this a perception or reality?

This book recognizes that civilization is driven by energy needs and uses the modern-day supplier of energy needs, viz., petroleum engineering, as the case study. The book challenges readers with the pointed question, “If we have progressed as a human race, why has our efficiency in sustaining human civilization regressed?”
For every phase of petroleum operations, ranging from exploration to refining, the authors investigate the root cause of the failure in sustainability. Once the cause is identified, it becomes quite simple to recommend practices that are sustainable. Once sustainable practices are in place, never again should petroleum operations be synonymous with polluting the environment. This book could be a textbook on fundamentals of sustainable energy management, yet it is called a “handbook”.

This book is not meant to frighten the reader. It does not lecture; it does not indoctrinate. It elucidates some of the fundamental principles of sustainability that made it possible for nature to continuously improve the environment, while making comfort available to all. The book shows comfort in lifestyle doesn’t have to come at the cost of long-term unsustainability. In fact, the book argues the best lifestyle even in the shortterm can only be assured with a long-term approach.
Overall, this book represents what can be considered as the cookbook for evergreen petroleum operations. They do that with fundamental science but without the rhetoric of scientists. They introduce the first premise, “Nature is perfect”, without the rhetoric of philosophy or even religious dogma. Who could argue with that?

TOC
The New Management Guidelines
Exploration Operations
Drilling and Production Operations
Sustainable Waste Management
Reservoir Engineering and Secondary Recovery
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Operations
Transportation, Processing, and Refining Operations
Decommissioning of Drilling and Production Facilities
Summary and Conclusions (Fundamental Misconceptions in Technology Development, Understanding Nature and Sustainability, Solutions that would Turn an Implosive Process Around)