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Identifying Potential Conflict Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration in Texas State Coastal Waters: A Multicriteria Spatial Analysis

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Abstract

Recent interest in expanding offshore oil production within waters of the United States has been met with opposition by groups concerned with recreational, environmental, and aesthetic values associated with the coastal zone. Although the proposition of new oil platforms off the coast has generated conflict over how coastal resources should be utilized, little research has been conducted on where these user conflicts might be most intense and which sites might be most suitable for locating oil production facilities in light of the multiple, and often times, competing interests. In this article, we develop a multiple-criteria spatial decision support tool that identifies the potential degree of conflict associated with oil and gas production activities for existing lease tracts in the coastal margin of Texas. We use geographic information systems to measure and map a range of potentially competing representative values impacted by establishing energy extraction infrastructure and then spatially identify which leased tracts are the least contentious sites for oil and gas production in Texas state waters. Visual and statistical results indicate that oil and gas lease blocks within the study area vary in their potential to generate conflict among multiple stakeholders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Environmental Planning & Sustainability Research Unit, Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3137, USA

    Samuel D. Brody

  2. Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Environmental Planning & Sustainability Research Unit, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Himanshu Grover, Sarah Bernhardt & Zhenghong Tang

  3. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Bianca Whitaker & Colin Spence

Authors
  1. Samuel D. Brody
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  2. Himanshu Grover
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  3. Sarah Bernhardt
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  4. Zhenghong Tang
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  5. Bianca Whitaker
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  6. Colin Spence
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel D. Brody.

Appendices

Appendix

Appendix A: Rationale for selecting and measuring spatial data layers
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Appendix B: Rational for buffer zone delineation of selected spatial data layers
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Brody, S.D., Grover, H., Bernhardt, S. et al. Identifying Potential Conflict Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration in Texas State Coastal Waters: A Multicriteria Spatial Analysis. Environmental Management 38, 597–617 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0265-4

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