Management of Implementation of Nanotechnology in Upstream Oil Industry: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Analysis

Abstract

Nanotechnology has had revolutionary effects in various fields of industry such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials. However, upstream oil industry has been noticeably slow in adopting the emerging technologies. This is mainly due to the exceptionally large investments needed to implement novel technologies in this industry. However, the projections for the increasing global energy demand require that oil and gas industry inevitably move toward adopting the emerging technologies. The high risk associated with enormous investments required for this aim necessitates measured and well-researched energy policies, with regard to the implementation of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry. This paper presents a concise summary of the research reported in the literature on the potential benefits of nanotechnology in upstream oil industry. These applications were categorized into ten groups, and presented to a pool of experts, who judged on their relative importance with respect to various decision-making criteria. All this information was then compiled into a single matrix, which indicates the priority of each investment alternative with respect to every criterion in the form of a raw number. Finally, using a decision-making software package, a dynamic analytic hierarchical process (AHP) analysis was performed, providing a route to customized investment policies.

Sustainable Development Model for the Automotive Industry

“…Several studies have been conducted on the evaluation of OS and the implementation of its methods [45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Most of the models developed are based on the three responsibilities of economic, environmental, and social sustainability [42][43][44][45]. Generally, the evaluation methods of the OS are developed by using a set of key indicators [44].…”

“…Involvement in sustainable development is not mandatory for organizations, so stakeholders will accept involvement in OS only if they see an economic benefit. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. It is specified that different stakeholders have different expectations within a company, and relationships may be different.…”

Development of a Holistic Assessment Framework for Industrial Organizations

“…Another research context of AHP was examined by Motamedi et al [14], who stressed that diversified industrial applications of nanotechnology including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials. Contrarily, the upstream oil industry showed low adoption of emerging technologies due to high investments involved at the relevant industrial sector.…”

“…At the case of nanotechnology benefiting at the upstream oil industry, the relevant importance of a spectrum of decision-making criteria was judged by a pool of experts. All information was gathered and compiled in prioritizing investment alternatives with respect to sort out all criteria in a raw numbering format, while the application of a dynamic AHP can route to customized investment policies [14].…”

Multicriteria Analysis for Retrofitting of Natural Gas Melting and Heating Furnaces for Sustainable Manufacturing and Industry 4.0

“…Considering the complexity of extracting common patterns among available indicators, it is necessary to adopt a decision-making methodology that enables the whole system to achieve optimal performance according to its specific priorities. Multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been extensively used as a strategy to solve decision-making problems for various applications [15][16][17]. This big data management model acts as an intelligent system for identifying the optimal alternative by considering both quantitative and qualitative criteria.…”