A procedure for optimizing tactical response in oil spill clean up operations

The Tactical Decision Problem (TDP) associated with oil spill clean up operations allocates available components to compose response systems so that the clean up requirement for each time period over the entire planning horizon is met. The objective is to minimize total response time to allow for the most effective clean up possible. The TDP is formulated as a general integer program, a problem that is difficult to solve due to its combinatorial nature. In this paper, we develop an optimization procedure that is based on an aggregation scheme and strong cutting plane methods. The solution of the resulting Aggregated Tactical Model is used in reformulating the TDP, in generating a family of facets for the TDP, and in several preprocessing methods. Computational experience is also reported in application to a realistic scenario representing the Galveston Bay Area.