Comparing Oil Industry in Angola and South Texas - Research Paper Example

Comparing oil industry in Angola and South Texas Introduction This paper talks about the similarities and the difference in the oil industries in Angola and South Texas. It entails a brief history of the methods used to drill the precious commodity, the factors affecting the drilling process and the time in which each and every country began its exploration process. The research paper also talks about the various effects brought about by oil drilling; these include, economic, political, social and environmental problems caused by the drilling process. It looks at the fracking method used by the people of Texas in the mining process and its impacts on the society. The research also highlights the factors that bring about difference between the whole industries in the two countries. The paper begins with giving some comparisons in the oil industry in the two countries. It explains the effects of the fracking drilling and mining method to the people of the involved countries. Finally, it gives explains the factors that bring about change in the development of the oil industries in the two nations. Comparing oil industry in Angola and South Texas Angola and South Texas are both oil producing countries but with varied exploration and drilling mechanisms. Angola is among the largest oil producers in sub-Saharan Africa being ranked second behind Nigeria. It experienced its boom in the industry between 2002 and 2008 while South Texas had its boom early in the 20th century with massive discoveries being made in Beaumont, Texas (Kelland). In terms of discovery, the first extensive discovery in Angola was achieved in the year 1955 around Kwanza basin. The first strike of oil is said to be made at around 1901 at Permian Basin on the western side of Texas. Texas had already dominated the oil industry in the US market (Legum and Hodges 24). Despite the discovery of the product in Angola, its production was affected by a civil war that occurred between 1975 and 2002 hence lagging the production of the product behind. On the contrary, South Texas was busy developing its production and as a result building its economy accordingly with the activities making the city grow. This growth was eminent from a small shopping center to one of the biggest cities in the United States. Texas being a developed country employs more advanced technology in the production process compared to Angola. The level of skilled personnel in Texas as a result of experience in the industry is far much better compared to that of Angola that discovered its fields a long time after Texas had already maximized on the industry. The level of awareness and preparedness towards disaster and risk management in Texas is far much better compared to that of Angola. In Angola currently, the production of oil entirely comes from the fields at the offshore of Cabinda and some from the deep-water fields in the lower Congo basin. There also exists some small-scale production on the fields that are at the onshore with very limited offshore exploration as a result of the conflict that occurred. On other side, since 1930, General American Finances System a company from Dallas began financing the drilling operations in the area (Legum and Hodges 43). The company grew financially and with time it was bought by Phillips Petroleum. Oil production in Angola has been affected by civil war that significantly affected the prices of the product and the development of the industry. On the other hand, Texas has been stable all through and focused all its attention on the development of the industry leading to the adoption of new and better technologies. The first offshore oil field in Texas began to operate in 1917, but serious drilling did not start until in the 1930’s while the first deep-water field to operate in Angola began in 1999. In Texas, small producers and its early exploration led to overproduction that also was the case in Angola mainly did the initial exploration of oil (Kelland 45). Large scale oil production in Angola started from 2002 after the crisis experienced in the country ceased and was characterized by the introduction of various fields of deep-water discovered in the 1990s (Olien and Hinton 40). Are the US citizens living alongside the fracking industry in South Texas also “drowning in misery” and economic ramification In South Texas, the beginning of the oil industry changed the economy of the region positively. The concentration of the refineries at the same place led to the creation of jobs to the local, and their livelihoods improved. That means the people living alongside the fracking industry are not living in any misery. (Legum and Hodges 50). Texas has in the recent years employed a new mining method known as fracking method. The method has several impacts on the environment, economy and health impacts of the surrounding populations. Most likely negative social, political, economic, or environmental condition to become associated with fracking in the future The increased use of the fracking process is seen to bring environmental problems related to the dangers of pollution and contamination of underground water. Some demerits of the fracking processes include, Pollution of the air The Fracking mining method produces methane during the exploitation process. The gas, therefore, acts to trap heat in the atmosphere, and it does this more than carbon dioxide does. This mining method releases a lot of contaminants into the atmosphere that include benzene, ethyl, xylene, dust, ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and metals contained in the combustion of fuel (Olien and Hinton 56). The exposure of these components to humans may cause short-term illnesses, damage to organs, nervous breakdown, child birth defects, and cancer among others. The gasses also lead to the production of smog in the atmosphere that leads to reducing vision (Kelland 67) Water pollution The drilling process entails chemical additives. Each well drilled produces a lot of gallons of harmful fluids which not only contains added chemicals, but also other natural radioactive materials, other hydrocarbons in the form of liquids, heavy metals and brine water. Fractures that come up in the fracking process leads to the creation of underground water pathways, gas paths, radioactive materials, and other harmful chemicals. Some other forms of contamination may occur when the construction designs made faulty (Legum and Hodges 67). There is also no existence of explicit policies for wastewater disposal around the area, which leads to pollution of the waters around. Soil and Oil Spill Contamination There are reports of spills from the oil companies with many going unreported. There is also a reported increase of chemically tainted soil that arises from drilling waste. Earthquakes Another problem associated with this form of drilling is earthquakes. The earthquakes that result from drilling oil by fracking method is known as induced seismic events by the scientist (Kelland 56). These earthquakes are of low magnitude but they usually relate to the storage of the millions of gallons of harmful wastewater as it may lead to loosening of the tanks and therefore endangering the lives of those living in these areas (Olien and Hinton 26). Health effects There are several health impacts associated with oil and gas drilling and particularly fracking. The chemicals that come from the process have been found to have effects on human skin, eyes, sensory organs, gastrointestinal problems and other respiratory problems. About 40 to 50% could have effects on the human brain, immune system and the cardiovascular systems (Legum and Hodges 70). 37% is said to affect the endocrine system, and about 25% could cause mutations and cancer. Political effects Politically, there has been a slow push from the government to enact the proposed environmental laws and regulations meant to the industry. The government does this in order to keep the industry expanding How does Reed answer the question in relation to the Angolan situation? In her writing, Reed addresses some issues that affect the oil industry in Angola. She explains how Angola’s oil production is usually offshore, and how the government and some private developers have teamed up for oil spills issues and carry out some mitigation measures to reduce its impacts to the marine environment. She also talks of other accidents that may occur during the drilling process. The problems are further divided into three major categories based on the development stages, these include, production, transport and drilling (Olien and Hinton 23). Production After the oil has been drilled, pumping follows, and the process revolves around the water injection or other chemicals into the wells. The water mixed with some chemicals is then pumped into the ocean. Both the drilling and the production of energy sometimes become intensive and end to relying on fossil fuels for energy production (Reed 25). The liquid natural gas plant is then constructed in Soyo that is associated with natural gas being released during oil production, and it is an extremely polluting activity. Drilling Accessing petroleum deposits requires one to go through a hard piece of rock and entails massive drilling. The process of drilling produces cuttings and rocky waste materials that are disposed on site. Most of the compounds have great use in the facilitation of penetration by the drill bits referred to as drilling muds are laced with heavy metals (Reed 28). All this has been solved by modern technologies through the creation of environmentally- friendly synthetic muds but the high cost of the technology slows its adoption. Transportation The movement of oil around the production area sometimes proves to be a tricky exercise. Short- distance transportation is usually done by the use of pipelines that are all prone to leaks. Sometimes the leaks go unnoticed and at the result of minimal daily losses that cumulatively result in massive environmental damages (Reed 32). Transportation of oil for longer distances is usually done using tankers that is usually rarely part of the producing company business and is often contracted by other contractors. Poor management of tankers always results in spills and ignorance from the management always results in massive environmental damages and at times affects the aquatic environment. Waves together with water currents sometimes displace he pollution that occurs from oil spills, but they are not associated with the production of the cumulative effect on the aquatic ecosystem. What factors might account for the different risks, damages, and dangers associated with oil development in Angola and fracking in Texas? There are several factors that have contributed to the difference in the risks, dangers associated with the developments, damage resulting from the oil industry production in both countries. These factors include, The safety systems employed by the concerned countries bring about some differences in the rate at which these risks occur. The difference may also arise from using old and unworthy equipment in the drilling process. This may translate to lack of use of modern and tested equipment that may be cheap but too risky to use (Olien and Hinton 56). Insufficient knowledge of the industry and different levels of understanding in the two countries may also bring about difference in the level in which these risks happen. Different levels of skilled personnel may also prove to be a factor in the level at which these risks occur. The differences may also result from lack of secondary tools for managing the oil well cases of damage or in case of any accident and for safety reasons if necessary (Legum and Hodges 67). There might be differences in the rate at which the equipment are serviced thus bringing he difference in the rate at which these risks happen. Lack of experience and improper planning in the industry also brings differences in the two countries’ as Texas seems to be more experienced than Angola (Olien and Hinton 54). There might also be insufficient systems for making immediate decisions on the procedures for solving the hazards. Differences in the special safety objects on some objects in case of any accident occurring to the personnel may bring difference in the rate and levels at which these risks happen. There is also a partial difference in the number of qualified personnel to handle safety matters in different areas (Legum and Hodges 70). Conclusion This paper has discussed in details the oil industry in Angola and South Texas. It has highlighted the problems that arise from oil drilling in the two countries and the factors that bring difference in the risks involved in the industry that affects its development. The difference in the production of oil in these two countries has also resulted in the differences in the market prices, and it has affected the global prizes at large. It is vivid that technological differences exist in the obtaining oil in these two different countries, and each new technology has its benefits and disadvantages. The differences enlisted and the problems talked about in this paper if looked at by the relevant people and proper measures taken can improve the rate at which the development of the oil industry in these countries happens. At the end of the day, Angola ought to learn from Texas to improve on its production methods and maximize on the product, in the long run. Works Cited Kelland, Malcolm A. Production Chemicals For The Oil And Gas Industry. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2009. Print. Legum, Colin, and Tony Hodges. After Angola. London: Rex Collings, 1976. Print. Olien, Roger M, and Diana Davids Hinton. Oil Booms. Lincoln: the University of Nebraska Press, 1982. Print. Reed, Kristin. Crude Existence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Print. Read More