Multi-criteria design of shale-gas-water supply chains and production systems towards optimal life cycle economics and greenhouse gas emissions under uncertainty

One of the critical problems in cooperative shale gas supply chains and production systems design is life cycle optimization of the economic and environmental performance under uncertainty. This study develops an inexact multi-criteria decision making (IMCDM) model with consideration of shale gas production profiles and recoverable reserves. The IMCDM framework is based on an integration of life cycle analysis, interval linear programming, multi-objective programming, and multi-criteria decision analysis approaches. An application to the Marcellus Shale supply chains is presented to demonstrate capabilities and effectiveness of the developed model, where the future spread in shale gas output follows from the variation in drilled well counts according to different scenarios. Design and operational decisions with respect to well drilling schedule, shale gas production, freshwater supply, wastewater disposal, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are then generated. An optimal strategy is further provided for stakeholders after evaluation of the trade-off among multiple criteria. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.