Enhancing a Water Risk Assessment Tool with Integrated Management Strategy

Abstract This paper introduces the company's novel Water Related Risk Assessment Tool, a bespoke risk-based approach to water management within oil and gas facilities. This tool helps the company to identify and assess water-related risks and opportunities at individual asset levels. Its key ideation of water risk assessment lies in merging data from reputable global databases (WWF Water Risk Filter and WRI Aqueduct) with the company's localized information, creating a comprehensive picture of potential risks and their financial impacts. The tool analyzes water risk likelihood and severity across three timeframes – current year, 2030, and 2050 – under various concerns encompassing physical, regulatory, reputational, operational, and basin-specific water challenges. This multi-dimensional assessment allows the company to prioritize water-related risks by integrating financial data based on their potential financial impact, guiding targeted mitigation efforts, and identifying opportunities for assessment beyond identifying risks. It also highlights water efficiency opportunities in high water stress areas, enabling proactive management of water resources, and tracking progress as continuous monitoring ensures that risks are regularly reassessed and mitigation strategies adapt to changing circumstances. As a result of the assessments, the overall company water risks indicated from low to medium, according to the company's risk matrix. However, a few specific assets were identified as operating within high-stress areas. Therefore, the company has been actively pursuing water efficiency initiatives to mitigate these risks within and beyond its operational boundaries. The assessment result is considered integrated into the company risk management system to ensure long-term effectiveness, guarantee consistent monitoring and develop appropriate mitigation of significant water-related risks. In conclusion, the Water Risk Assessment Tool exemplifies a comprehensive customized risk-based approach to integrated water management strategy. By integrating global data with company-specific insights, it prioritizes and enables proactive risk identification and mitigation, and ultimately, sustainable water resource management within the oil and gas sector.