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consequences to sea life in oil drilling
disadvantages of offshore oil drilling
effect on the environment of drilling operations offshore
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The existence of crude oil has been known for centuries, and throughout time the growing demand for the resource has driven the exploration, and production to its highest expansion. The Earths' natural reserve of crude oil is finite; it is not a renewable resource. Corn and Copeland stated that based on survey studies one-half of the remaining undiscovered crude oil and natural gas lie under the oceans and seas. According to the book "Public Reaction to Offshore Oil", the demand for crude oil is still increasing and there is no doubt, the resource is depleting and in the future, the world's production will be forced to start declining. Even though water bodies are extremely sensitive ecosystem, as demand for petroleum keeps rising and technological innovations developed offshore drilling introduced to satisfy the rising demand (Corn, and Copeland). There is no doubt oil-drilling, in general, and offshore drilling, in particular, is playing a great role in reaching the ongoing demand for the resource, which immensely benefit our energy and industrial craving. However, this resource exploitation is also costing in ecosystem degradation, environmental pollution, and social health imbalance. Does the existing trend of exponential expansion of offshore oil-drilling exploration and production following the path towards sustainable economic and environmental development?
Based on the article "Offshore Drilling", the term offshore drilling refers to both exploration and final producing of wells accessing underwater resource reservoirs of oil and gas deposits. The first offshore drilling was done on the Pacific Ocean off the shores of Summerland, California, Southeast of Santa Barbara, in 1898. The technological breakthrough that faci...
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...evelopment can only happen if the society is well informed about economic and environmental activities.
Works Cited
Corn, M. Lynne and Copeland, Claudia“The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Coastal Wetland and Wildlife Impacts and Response.”Congressional Research Service (July 7, 2010).
Mabro, Robert; Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Oil in the 21st century: issues, challenges and opportunities. Oxford Press.(2006).
“Offshore Drilling." Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications,2010. Credo Reference. Web. 11 November 2013.
"Offshore Oil Drilling (Gulf Oil Spill)." Green Technology: An A-to-Z Guide. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2011. Credo Reference. Web. 11 November 2013
"Public Reaction to Offshore Oil." Encyclopedia of Energy. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2004. Credo Reference. Web. 11 November 2013..
There is an abundance of oil underneath earth’s crust on land and in the water but getting to that oil can be proven as a challenge and a negative impact on the earth. Many of these oil reservoirs lie in federally protected land or water to minimize the negative impact on the earth. But should those restrictions be removed? Removing the restrictions can allow the US to tap into domestic reserves rather than rely on imported oil from the Middle East and Asia but tapping these reservoirs can also leave behind an impact that is harmful to this planet. “Critics oppose this move for fear that it will cause irreparable harm environmental harm. They point to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as evidence of the risks associated with offshore drilling” (SIRS).
Scarlett, M. (1977). Consequences of offshore oil and gas-Norway,Scotland, and Newfoundland. St. John's: Memorial University of Newfoundland.
On April 20, 2010, a tragic disaster hit the Gulf Coast. British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig exploded spewing crude oil into the ocean from the three major cracks in the rig. It rivaled the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill within days of explod...
April, 20th 2010; The Gulf of Mexico was exquisite, marvelous, and teeming with life. An ominous and enormous drilling rig cruised across the sea. The vessel was collectedly searching for oil. The crew found a massive oiling spot, buried underneath the ocean. The crew hastily begins drilling without safety precautions, ignoring local wildlife and habitats nearby. After eliciting oil from underneath the ocean; the crew recklessly begun siphoning cement into the gaping hole. Suddenly, a vociferous boom arises from the ocean floor; the malodorous scent filled the air, as heaps of oil drifted to the surface. This oil polluted oblivious animals, looming coral and trees, and alluring shores; turning the once exquisite coast into a mung, oily marsh. Do you want more oil-based catastrophes such as the BP Oil Spill, to continue ratifying the environment?
Offshore Drilling is one of the main ways that that us as Americans get our oil. I believe that there are many different ways that we could get our oil. I feel that offshore drilling is cruel and destructive to such things as animals, coral reefs, people that have fishing charter boats. I truly love the ocean and everything that it has to offer, but if an offshore drilling rig happens to get a leak it would affect everything in the ocean, birds, and even people that make their living off of the ocean. If offshore drilling hurts so many things and the environment why do we still do it?
In conclusion, I believe it is safe to say that if offshore drilling is not banned it will be very detrimental to our society. It is just beginning now, but by the time our future generations are growing up the waterways and beaches will be nothing but filthy and unsuitable land. Now we have the pleasure of growing up and going to the beach and we take that for granted, cause the people in the future may not have that luxury. With the beaches becoming unsuitable for even us, which means it will also be unsuitable for fish and other animals. Our food supply, which comes from some of these animals, will fall drastically and may put some families without food. All in all, something needs to be done about offshore drilling and the only realistic solution is to ban them until a safer alternative is discovered.
The environmental danger taken by offshore drilling is very straight forward, made clear by oil spills such as the recent BP oil spill and the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 off the shore of Alaska. In the circumstances of the Exxon Valdez spill up to 250,000 sea birds died, over 2,800 sea otters and thousands of other animals], (figures from the BP oil spill are not yet concluded), having had a heavy strike on the regional wildlife and directing to a ban on all offshore drilling in America, until George Bush overturned it in 2008 to this repeal was a misjudgment because two years later there was the Deepwater Horizon spill. In this way, offshore drilling ruins ecosystems and fish supplies which creates a wasteland of a shoreline among southern USA.
" Oil is the life blood of our modern industrial society. It fuels the machines and lubricates the wheels of the world’s production. But when that vital resource is out of control, it can destroy marine life and devastate the environment and economy of an entire region…. The plain facts are that the technology of oil-- its extraction, its transport, its refinery and use-- has outpaced laws to control that technology and prevent oil from polluting the environment…" (Max, 1969). Oil in its many forms has become one of the necessities of modern industrial life. Under control, and serving its intended purpose, oil is efficient, versatile, and productive. On the other hand, when oil becomes out of control, it can be one of the most devastating substances in the environment. When spilled in water, it spreads for miles around leaving a black memory behind (Stanley, 1969).
The Arctic Circle is a snowy paradise that harbors diverse species and beautiful landscapes. It also happens to be home to an estimated thirteen to twenty-five percent of the world’s undiscovered crude oil, averaging out to about 90 billion barrels of oil (Gerkens, 2014). Alaska in particular is home to one of the largest sources of oil in the United States. Underneath the barren land and icy waters is thought to be over 412 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. A majority of these fossil fuels are located in North Slope, Alaska and in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the coast of Alaska. However, reaching this fuel can be quite difficult and perilous. Drilling on land is strongly protested and drilling in the ocean can be treacherous. There are pros and cons to drilling for oil in the Arctic and the effects of drilling could be positive or negative. (Dlouhy, 2014)
Offshore oil drilling has always been a notorious subject of debate due to the positive growth it can bring to a country’s economy and simultaneously bring detrimental effects in a marine environment. The largest issue regarding crude oil pumping offshore is the high risk of tremendous damage to marine ecosystems and depleting resource, additionally many modern economies count on crude oil as an effective power source and its growth in the financial market. Historically offshore drilling has had its share of enormous oil spills into many bodies of water such at the Lakewood Gusher spill, the Gulf War Oil Spill, Odyssey Oil Spill and unfortunately many more(Cooper,1992). These date as far back 1967 when Scilly Islands was documented as the first
One Petro, is a multi-society, unique library that provides a broad range of technical literature related to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, will be used throughout this research. In addition New Mexico Tech’s online Discovery database will be used to search for existing researches on the environmental impact of Hydraulic Fracturing. Discovery database performs search of all the Library’s database content, providing digital copies of academic reports, periodical articles, and research helpful towards to my research. For my research, SPE journals will be preferred to cover the theories and concept as also the concerns of Hydraulic Fracturing. SPE journals cover the theories and emerging concepts that will become the new technologies of tomorrow, it’s the most helpful resource for a Petroleum
With the United States drilling off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico, totaling the May of 2015 census of oil rigs worldwide marking 213 of them being located in the gulf. With that many rigs being in the gulf there is destined to be spills of oil and natural gas. In the time between 1969 to 2010 there were 15 oil spills in the Gulf and the neighboring waterways. On the other hand on soil rather than in the water coal mining is also becoming a larger issue than what it was back in the 1920’s. While coal is produced differently than oil is the process that uses coal to produce energy has become more and more harsh on the global environment. Coal is, “formed when dead plant matter submerged in swamp environments is subjected to the geological
Oil spills and drilling has an effect on our environment. It’s estimated that since humans have first started drilling into the earth, we have drilled over 1700 holes into the ocean floor (Normile & Kerr 2003). Oil drilling can lead to oil deposits accumulating beneath thick layers of salt. Drilling at ~4,000m deep involves extreme conditions; the oil itself may be around 200oC, while the temperature of the ocean floor might be just above freezing. This would cause the pipe to burst, which has a high probability of leading to oil being spilled. The average number of marine spills per year has increased from 47 per year (1968-1977) to 188 ruptures and 228 leakages per year (Jernelöv 2010). Oil spills are detrimental to the environment, and every year, about 1% of the oil being shipped across the ocean (around 1.5 billion tons of oil) is spilled (Jernelöv 2010).
First, oil drilling can be harmful to the marine environment. A large portion of the United States’ oil comes from drilling in the ocean. When oil companies are in search to find a new place to drill for oil, they must send seismic waves into the ground which reveal where new oil reserves may be found. “But seismic noise disorientates whales and leads to mass beachings, said Richard Charter, a government relations consultant for the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund” ( http://www.livescience.com/4979-oil-drilling-risks-rewards.html). Also, there is always a risk no matter how well the machinery is manufactured that there will be an oil spill. If there is an oil, all animals that live near or in the ocean will be at risk to the toxins of oil. According to
As we have discussed, petroleum, natural gas, and its industries are a major factor in our economy. Oil and natural gas’s history, operations, environmental impacts, and present and future challenges demonstrate the importance of these non-renewable natural resources. The exploration of oil will continue to expand through the study of geoscience, engineering, and most importantly, technology. Midstream, containing the main operations of oil and gas, is improving each year in efficient processes for transporting, refining, and storing oil and gas. Despite the numerous challenges that are faced in the petroleum and gas industry, geologists continue to strive to make their operations safer for the environment, but are these efforts enough to save our planet for our future generations?