Offshore Oil Drilling in America: Benefits and Consequences - Research Paper Example

? Offshore Oil Drilling in America; Benefits and Consequences Oil is one of the most precious commodities in the contemporary society, since it is used as fuel in automobiles and numerous industrial machines. Due to its tremendous importance and economic viability, it is argued that it is one of the resources that, if not well managed, can to deadly conflicts. Conflicts over oil resources are evident all over the world, like the current Sudan and South Sudan case. Oil is a very precious commodity in the United States and the world as a whole. What is oil? Oil in its raw form, before processing, is known as crude oil or petroleum. According to Annette, “petroleum is a fossil fuel that forms from the remains of prehistoric vegetations and animals as a result of long years of heat and pressure (28). Oil is exploited through drilling both on the land and under the sea. The paper will explore offshore oil drilling in the United States, its benefits and the detriments. What is offshore oil drilling? According to Dictionary.com, it is, “the exploitation of oil wells on the continental shelf, sometimes in water hundreds of feet deep.” It is the exploration of oil in the beds of large water bodies. Offshore oil drilling can also be defined as the extraction of oil from the continental coasts, lakes and inland seas (Earth Conservation 2012). Off shore oil exploration can be traced back to 1887 when H.L. Williams built a wharf on which he erected a drilling rig, and his first off shore well extended 90 meters into the ocean (National Ocean Industries Association). Oil resource has become a very important commodity in the America, and many have ventured into offshore drilling due to its economic viability. Offshore oil drilling in America is limited to only a few regions. Mason documents that, “the production is restricted to off the coasts of six American states namely: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alaska and California” (2).Offshore oil drilling industry has also been influenced by the current immense technological advancements. Proponents of offshore drilling claim that, this practice is a necessary evil, since despite its disadvantages, like environmental degradation, it is important in spurring the large and vibrant American economy through job creations, increased revenues to the government, technological advancements, and increased purchasing power of her citizens among others. However, the threats and disadvantages posed by offshore oil drilling in the United States should not be ignored. Before the implementation of offshore oil drilling projects, it is important to conduct merits and demerits analysis to establish the most appropriate course of action. Offshore drilling causes very serious environmental degradation that is very detrimental to the life of the flora and fauna in the water bodies and the surrounding environment. The problem of environmental degradation is not only limited to the aquatic life but also the land organisms, which depend on the sea waters either directly or indirectly. Secondly, the cost of off shore oil exploration is often very colossal, therefore if not handled tactfully may outweigh the benefits, hence a burden to the economy of the United States. Finally, it is justified to be skeptical about off shore oil drilling because at times faulty equipments have been used, which in the long run may lead to environmental degradation. There are other disadvantages of offshore drilling in America but the paper will only discuss the three that have been highlighted. It is inappropriate to argue against offshore oil drilling in the United States while neglecting its benefits. According to Bayley, “the benefits of producing offshore oil greatly outweigh the costs.” The benefits of the same are good for the American economy, and this can be witnessed through reduced oil prices for consumers, deterrence of oil price fluctuations and the economic returns that are enjoyed by oil the drilling entities. These benefits are good for economic sustenance and development in America. Offshore oil drilling is also necessary in United States since it helps in bridging the gap between America’s oil requirements and the actual amount of oil available for consumption. The role played by offshore oil drilling in the United States cannot be assumed since it is tremendous. Mason observes that, offshore gas and oil production in the United States has been a great boost to the onshore and the federal economy through three major phases: initial offshore oil exploration, extraction of oil resource and refining of crude oil into finished products(2). Through these stages, there are many industries in the United States that thrive by offering technical, financial and environmental support. Mason confirms this fact by documenting that such industries are evident in the Gulf of Mexico where there is ongoing offshore oil drilling, for example, the U.S. ship building industry that benefit from the offshore oil drilling (3). When industries thrive because of offshore oil exploration, extraction and refinery, the United States economy is boosted through increased investments, employment opportunities and revenue to the government among others. No one can repudiate the fact that, environmental degradation through oil spillage in the ocean is very detrimental. However, it can be avoided by enacting legislations that guard against the spills. In the event of oil spills, the ocean should be cleaned. It is possible to clean the sea, for example, Bayley, documents that the biggest oil spill in America, that involved the Exxon Valdez oil tanker, where about 10 million gallons of crude oil was spilled, was cleaned at a cost of 2.2 billion U.S. dollars. Offshore drilling is a risk that should be taken in the United States and uttermost caution taken in order to deter environmental degradation. In the event of oil spills, the sea or the ocean should be cleaned speedily and effectively to salvage the aquatic life and the general environment. Despite the justifications of offshore oil drilling in the United States, its disadvantages should be treated very seriously to deter environmental degradation. Offshore oil drilling in America is associated with numerous environmental hazards. Earth Conservation documents that, “offshore drilling can pose a serious threat to marine ecosystem and the environment in general.” One of the ways that offshore drilling pollutes the environment is through oil spills. Oil may spill from tankers and pipelines that transport oil from the point of extraction to the main land (Earth Conservation). Further, oil spills may also occur at the point of extraction since the machines or extraction technology may develop some shortcomings. Bayley observes that, opponents of offshore drilling emphasize that oil spill from this drilling is dangerous, and as such the practice should be abolished. The ocean is the habitat to aquatic life and oil spills can emit poisonous substances, which may wipe out their lives. The destruction of such animals is also not good for human survival. The population of the United States depends on aquatic organisms like fish and other sea creatures for food. Their destruction in the long run threatens the food basket of America. During offshore oil drilling, oil exploitation is done in deep ocean rocks. As the depth increases, there is an increase in both pressure and temperature of gases in the rocks under the sea. The pressure is supposed to be technologically contained by drilling fluids, muds, to avert any possible blowouts (Annette 29). When the technology of containing the pressure fails, then gas blowouts are inevitable. The gas and oil released to the water body are harmful to the ocean life. Annette documents one particular oil well blowout that occurred in 1969 at the Californian coast, where it is estimated that about 90,000 gallons of crude oil was emitted to the water body (29). If such a large amount of crude oil is released into the sea water, there is a possibility of it mixing with water and flowing to the sea shore. This can be a great hazard to the environment. According to Annette, this particular oil well blowout caused crude oil inundation that killed numerous marine mammals, birds and fish (29).The paper has only mentioned one example of deep sea oil well blowouts, but there are other such occurrences that have occurred in the United States. These occurances cause very serious environmental disasters, and the relevant authorities should formulate and enact laws to protect the environment from possible pollution from blowouts. If this phenomenon cannot be effectively contained by the available technology, it is prudent to forget about offshore oil drilling and embark on alternative sources of fuel and energy. In the course of offshore oil exploration and exploitation, a lot of mud is produced. The mud is deposited in the mass of water and this causes immense sea pollution, adversely affecting the flora and fauna. Further, Earth Conservation, documents that, the mud is contaminated with toxic substances that can negatively impact on marine life. The toxic substances make the sea life unbearable since it kills the sea organisms that are important to the sea ecosystem. The destruction of this ecosystem through offshore oil drilling can complicate the environmental conditions therefore the practice should be avoided. The subtopic of environmental hazards of offshore oil drilling in the United States cannot be closed without discussing its effects on human health. Human beings are endowed with reasoning power that differentiates them from other organisms. Despite their reasoning ability, they are also adversely affected by offshore oil extraction. Those who work at the oil extraction plants are predisposed to the toxic substances that are emitted during the oil extraction. Further, the personnel who clean the oil spills are also in danger of being exposed to the toxic substances in crude oil. According to Annette, when people come into skin contact with the drilling fluids they can experience dermatitis, and that prolonged exposure impacts include: hypokalemia, renal toxicity and cardiovascular and neuromuscular effects (31). Human beings depend on sea creatures like fish for food. When we consume fish from affected waters they may develop medical problems. Annette documents that, exposure of human beings to hydrocarbons released during the drilling like benzene can cause respiratory distress and that when the exposure is prolonged the health effects may be severe and may cause leukemia, anemia and poor reproductive health (31). Other diseases that are related to offshore oil drilling in America to include: asthma, cancer, cardiopulmonary ailments and impaired vision among others (Annette 31). The paper has not exhausted the environmental impacts of offshore oil drilling in United States but the few that have been discussed are enough justifications for being against the practice in America and all over the world. Another problem that is associated with offshore oil drilling is the cost incurred during the process of exploration, extraction and processing of the commodity. It is very expensive to develop and use offshore oil drilling technologies. According to Bayley, it costs $ 50 to produce one barrel of oil from offshore oil drilling and $ 85 to purchase the same. The difference is $ 35 dollars per barrel of oil. This seems worthwhile, but there are other costs related to offshore oil production. The environmental, social and political costs of the same are immense. The environmental costs involve the costs that the United States and the oil drilling companies incur due to offshore oil drilling. According to Annette, offshore oil drilling is also a major cause of climate change and acidification of the environment through the release of methane and carbon dioxide gases (30). This is the essence of global warming, and this phenomenon is a threatening one to the livelihoods of human beings and other organisms. Global warming that, a long term effect of offshore drilling, is very costly, for example, it leads to increased temperatures that heat the sea and the earth surfaces causing an alteration in climate, impacting negatively on the agricultural sector, which is the global food basket. Hurricanes and earthquakes are also caused by global warming. These phenomena are very destructive and have caused devastating effects in the economy of the United States and the world over. Such long term effects of offshore oil drilling are costly to the population and the United States and the whole world. For instance, in the event of oil spill, large amounts of money are used to clear the mess. The costs that the population incur in order to manage the effects of the illnesses caused by offshore oil drilling are also very huge. When the population is affected by sicknesses, the work force of the United States is adversely jeopardized. Weak labor out put is detrimental to the economic development of the region, which a super power. Offshore oil drilling utilizes machines and other exploitation technologies to extract crude oil from the sea beds. There are various technologies that are used in United States during offshore oil drilling. However, the paper will discuss the rotary drilling method to analyze the problem of the use of faulty equipment during offshore oil drilling. Utilization of faulty equipment during offshore oil exploration is a serious problem that should be addressed speedily and appropriately. One of the technologies applied in offshore oil production is rotary drilling method that has numerous components working together for the desired out put of the system. According to Tanaka, Okada, Ichikawa, rotary drilling method is applied to make deep oil and gas wells under the sea, and is comprised of a drilling rig that enables, penetration, hoisting, conditioning, and circulation of drilling fluids and prevention of the formation fluids from entering the oil well (4). This is a sophisticated technology where each component is vital. Failure of one of the components leads to the failure of the whole process and that is the essence of a system. Let us explore an example of a failed system to be able to visualize how faulty equipment can be disastrous in the course of offshore oil drilling. According to Mcquaid, there can be a blowout on an oil rig when the natural gas, oil, water and drilling fluids escape the well and shots out through the drilling pipe. The blowout can be very detrimental and can lead to severe fire breakouts. The drilling rigs are fitted with structures called blowout preventers. As the name suggests they are designed to prevent oil well blowouts that may occur due to immense temperatures and pressure of petroleum and gas substances in the wells. Mcquaid documents one particular case of Deeper water Horizon in the United States, the gulf of Mexico, that occurred on April 21st 2011, and he further observes that it happened due to the malfunctioning of the blowout preventers, when both the automatic and manual switches failed. Bayley documents that this explosion due to faulty equipment claimed lives of 11 workers, and this is a serious setback of offshore oil drilling. The failure of the switches could have been caused by human and engineering error. Mcquaid observes that about 50% of major equipment failures are caused by engineering flaws. These flaws are evident in both the operation and design of the offshore drilling technology. Engineering error amounts to the use technologically flawed equipment, whose negative effects are serious both to human beings and the environment in general. In addition, faulty technology can manifest itself in the form of leaking oil pipes and dilapidated equipment. It is very expensive to repair and maintain the offshore drilling equipment hence at times faulty ones may be used and this amounts to bomb whose explosion may occur any time. With the high demand of oil products in the United States, the oil wells near the sea shore have been depleted and there is a shift to oil exploration and exploitation far away into the sea. This means that, the depth of the waters will increase and the oil wells to be exploited will be deeper into the underground. These changes require advancements in offshore drilling technologies, and faulty equipment should not be used to safeguard the livelihood of human beings and to preserve the environment. If the United States’ authorities cannot intervene in ensuring faulty equipments are not used in oil extraction, it is better if the whole exercise is put on hold and renewable and environmentally friendly sources of fuel and energy be exploited. There should be regulations and laws that govern offshore oil drilling companies to safeguard the public and the environment against adverse effects of using faulty equipment during oil exploration. Oil is a very precious commodity and has been explored in the offshore waters in America due to high demand, and the depletion other oil wells. Oil is important to the United States for economic and technological advancements. We are in an era of technological sophistication, and airplanes, automobiles, generators and industries use oil for fuel and energy. Offshore oil drilling has promised to increase the production of this non-renewable source of energy. Offshore oil production supports the American economy in three main stages: exploration, extraction and refinery. This provides employment opportunities, revenue to the government and expansion of investments among other benefits. Despite the economic benefits offshore oil drilling is associated with myriad of environmental and social problems. The environmental problems caused by offshore oil drilling in the United States are very conspicuous. They include, oil spills and emission of toxic substances like drilling fluids and other chemicals to the water body. Offshore oil drilling in the U.S. is also detrimental as it predisposes human beings to numerous illnesses including the deadly disease, cancer. Further it is associated with problems of high costs of extraction refinery. The costs consist of monetary, social, and severe environmental costs like fueling global warming. It has also has shortcomings of faulty equipment that ultimately leads to worse environmental hazards like oil well blowouts. Though offshore oil drilling is beneficial, it should be regulated and reduced gradually towards total abolishment. This is because, particularly, the serious environmental problems will worsen with time, and this is a threat to the existence of human beings and other organism. More and extensive research should be done to come up with alternative and environmentally friendly sources of fuel to salvage the United States and the whole world from the consequences of offshore oil drilling. Works Cited. Annette Rose Mary. The Environmental Impacts of Offshore Oil Drilling. Ball state University, 2009, Print. Bayley Ronald. Weighing the Benefits and Costs of Offshore Drilling. Reason.com.2010. Web 19 April 2012.http://reason.com/archives/2010/05/04/weighing-the-benefits-costs-of Dictionary.com. Offshore drilling Definition. Dictionary.com. 2012. Web 18 April 2012. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/offshore+drilling Earth Conservation. The menace of offshore oil drilling. 2012. Web 18 April 2012. http://www.earthconservation.net/offshore-oil-drilling.html Mason R. Joseph. The Economic Contribution of Increased Offshore Oil Exploration and Production to Regional and National Economies. Washington: American Energy Alliance,2009. Print Mcquaid John. The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: An Accident Waiting to Happen.2010.Web19 April 2012. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_gulf_of_mexico_oil_spill_an_accident_waiting_to_happen/2272/ National Ocean Industries Association. About NOIA. 2012. Web 19 April 2012. http://www.noia.org/website/article.asp?id=123 Tanaka S, Okada Y, Ichikawa Y. Offshore Drilling and Production Equipment. Web 21 April 2012. http://www.eolss.net/Eolss-sampleAllChapter.aspx Read More