The oil and gas industry has been a hot topic for most of my adult life. I was newly married when the Exxon Valdez ran aground. I had two brothers working on off shore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico when the BP Deepwater Horizon rig exploded. The world’s dependence upon oil and gas has created a need to find alternate energy and one of those ways is through fracking. Let us compare these oil disasters and fracking, and first consider how managing ethical risk can reduce accidents, next compare the risk that BP, Exxon, and the fracking industry face to continue to provide energy sources, and finally how ethical leadership can help the oil and gas industry manage risk. The structure of business ethics is voluntary, legal, and core practices. BP and Exxon had an obligation to act ethically in all three areas. Exxon’s 3rd mate was not license to pilot through Prince William Sound. The captain was drunk and asleep and when he was awake and in charge he ignored the Coast Guard’s recommendations. Exxon knew the captain had issues with alcohol. The company hired to do the clean-up was ill-prepared, had damaged equipment, and they also did not have enough equipment to handle the spill. By all appearance BP presented an image …show more content…
BP and Exxon have had to pay billions of dollars for damages, clean-up and fines. Unfortunately risk to drill for oil and gas will continue as will risk associate with fracking. Oil and gas are non-renewal energy sources. When they are gone, they are gone. To me this is the biggest risk of all. Some think that fracking is less risky than drilling, but there are many unanswered questions associated with fracking. Earthquakes in fracking areas are on the rise. The gas is in the ground for a reason and by design, and to remove it without regard for safety considerations of replacing gas with liquid is
Fracking is a complex political topic; nonetheless, fracking is showing a positive impact on the United States economy and leaving a harmful footprint behind the environment. In addition, consumers are experiencing a significant amount of savings due to the overwhelming supplies of oil; thus, the revolution in new technology is triggering an improper fracking system that contributes to airborne pollution and water contamination. Higher authorities should implement the concepts of sustainability and ethical views of large corporations and businesses to protect the consumer’s safety.
If the practice of fracking continues without the necessary regulation and management to construct the infrastructure required for extraction, transportation and consumerization, the practice has the potential to generate serious problems.
That being said, like conventional wells, fracking wells need to be monitored and maintained. Well casing failures, improper cementing, well leaks, spills of fluid, as well as improper dumping of wastewater are all examples of mishandling and create a climate of distrust of oil and gas companies. Supporters of fracking claim that responsible operators, with governmental oversight (regulatory policies), make for a perfectly safe drilling environment. Drilling of oil is complicated and challenging, but safe drilling and production practices have been known and used for decades. Environmentally harmful incidents are preventable by following industries best practices.
This debate covered the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The two sides that can be taken within this debate are, Bruce McKenzie Everett’s side or John Rumpler’s side. Everett believes that hydraulic fracturing is completely worth it, due to the fact that the economic benefits outweigh the negative impacts on our environment. While Rumpler argues that there are very crucial tolls fracking is taking on our environment, and also our health. Throughout the article there are 6 question proposed to each person. The first, and maybe most important, question asked is ‘is fracking safe?’ Everett responds first by saying that nothing in the world is entirely safe, and then continues to nullify the multitude of threats fracking
BP Exploration and Production, Inc. (BP) (defendant) and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Anadarko) (defendant) co-leased oil and gas rights in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and co-owned a producing well on the leasehold. A blowout occurred in the well while Deepwater Horizon, a mobile offshore-drilling unit (MODU) owned by Transocean (defendant), was engaged in drilling operations on the well. Deepwater Horizon broke off the well and sank. As a result, oil flowed from the well, through what remained of the riser that had connected the well to Deepwater Horizon, and into the Gulf. The United States government (plaintiff) sought to impose joint and several liability on all defendants under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), 33 U.S.C. §§ 2701-04, for the
In recent years, the subject of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking has been a constant subject of interest in the news media. The pros and cons of fracking are passionately debated. However, the public should become educated on the subject of fracking prior to choosing a side of the argument. In the scholarly article, “Super Fracking,” published in 2014, by Donald L. Trucotte, Eldridge M. Moores, and John B. Rundle, a detailed description of fracking is provided, followed by their analysis of current issues surrounding the controversy. According to Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle, fracking saves the consumer money. The wellhead cost to produce natural gas in January of 2000 was two dollars and sixty cents per one thousand cubic feet. At an alarming rate, the cost at the wellhead to produce natural gas had risen to eight dollars per one thousand cubic feet by January of 2006. Comfortingly, the wellhead cost dropped to two dollars and eighty-nine cents by the end of 2012. Impressively, gas production increase and price decrease over the time period are a result of fracking. In their article, Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle describe in great detail that hydraulic fracturing, most commonly referred to as fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to fracture the layers of rock so that a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the oil or natural gas inside. This method of fracking has been used commercially for the last fifty years.
That is not to say that the natural gas reserves are going to be sucked dry tomorrow, either. As of right now, the United States is the only country that is drilling for natural gas on such a scale. Soon other countries around the world are going to join in and throw off the supply and demand. Many articles are already prophesizing that the natural gas bubble will burst before 2017. Right now the country may be profiting from this all, but these small towns that have been revitalized by the gas boom are dealing with a few unexpected consequences. Their small roads are now plagued by hundreds of noisy semi-trucks carrying supplies to and from the wells, and that is without mentioning the adverse impacts fracking is taking on the water, air, land, and health of
Applying the theory of Utilitarianism to the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill we see that BP’s decisions in this case don’t appear clearly ethical. The harms to human and environmental stability caused by the spill seem to weigh heavily against the benefits to the local and U.S. economy of deepwater drilling itself.
Natural gasses are one of the most desirable and needed resources in the world today. As the population and technology continue to get larger the need for natural gasses continues to steadily increase. With the need for natural gasses increasing the industry continues to expand their techniques and means to acquire natural gas. The use of hydraulic fracking is receiving most of the attention of today’s natural gas industry much of which is negative. This paper not only discusses the process of fracking but the benefits and disadvantages that come along with its use. Its main purpose is not how fracking works but looking into what follows the fracking process and challenging your stance on the issue by using ethical theories to support and negate issues that are brought up by the use of fracking. While challenging your position on fracking I will explain why we should find an alternative to fracking due to our ethical obligations.
Are natural gas and oil worth fracking for? What long-term effects will fracking have on the environment? Fracking is the process of drilling a mixture of water and other chemicals into the ground at very high pressures in order to extract natural gas and oil. Fracking has caused various changes to its surrounding environment, these changes include: water contamination, the quality of the air that contributes to climate change, fracking-induced earthquakes, and where the waste of fracking is disposed. Many of the areas that fracking effects are major contributors to its natural wildlife. If fracking continues to take place the environmental changes could harm wildlife and human lives around them,
Global energy needs are at an all time high and do not appear to be tapering off in the near future. Even with all the advancements of technology and the development of alternate renewable resources, fossil fuels continue to be the leading source to facilitate these energy needs. The magnitude and effort needed to shift the world to alternative sources of energy is monumental and each has huge barriers when compared to fossil fuels (Troy 34). Traditional means of extracting oil, coal, and natural gas have historically faced scrutiny from environmentalists and lawmakers due to the various potential hazards these resources present. In truth their efforts have not been in vain; in many of the first world nations the extraction of these resources has been regulated and therefore tailored to pose as little risk to the environment as possible. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking as it is commonly called is not a new method of resource extraction but by no means would it be considered traditional. It is commonly understood that there are no completely perfect methods of extracting fossil fuels no matter their chemical or physical makeup and the same is true of fracking. There are challenges associated with the human error factor just as there are in any other types of project development; these generally surround the construction and best business practices surrounding the
As natural resources continue to diminish, alternative became more of necessity. Coal and oil consumption cannot replenish as fast as it is consumed, in which the resources will inevitably be exhausted. The people became optimistic regarding natural gas found in the United States. Drilling companies try to extract natural gas through hydraulic fracking; however, this process pose ethical concerns. While drilling for natural gas, methane can leak into the atmosphere, leading to global warming. In addition, careless fracking protocol could lead to groundwater contamination. As the petroleum engineering sector grows, new engineers from many disciple will be entering the field. Ethical standards are must be upheld while drilling, which is why the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers and the SPE Code of Ethics provides standards that petroleum engineers must follow. Following these codes will allow petroleum engineers to conduct natural gas drilling in an ethical manner while preserving the environment and have financial gains. The inquiry will start by explaining what hydraulic fracturing is, and then explain the benefits of this procedure and the risk. The issue will then be analyze using Kantian ethics and utilitarian ethics. I will determine whether or not the action
In 1908, BP was founded under the name Anglo-Persian Oil Company. In 1954 they changed their name to British Petroleum and merged with Amoco in 1998. (BP Public Website, 2010) “The Texas City Refinery is BP’s largest and most complex oil refinery... It was owned and operated by Amoco prior to the merger of BP and Amoco.” (Michael P. Broadribb, 2006) Throughout their history, there have been a number of accidents that have been caused by negligence and disregard of safety precautions. Unfortunately many lives have been cut short or seriously injured as a result. My research will focus on the 2005 Texas City Oil Refinery Explosion. I will attempt to look into the ethical implications that surrounded this disaster before and after the event and suggest what BP could have done to prevent the incident then and in the future.
BP being the responsible party had the liability to bear all the costs and organizational duties associated with the cleanup effort while the Coast guard monitored and approved the things. Part of BPs liability depended on how much oil has been leaked. Therefore, it was in the financial interest of the company to do everything it could do to:
The Moral issue in the case we are confronting is that oil companies are abusing the general population, contaminating nature, weakening the governments regulations, and deceiving everybody for their profits which is not acceptable of a mammoth organization like BP. Oil being a natural resource is being extracted by the company for their vested interests neglecting the society and the climate. The food pyramid is getting affected due to its short cuts and lapse in guidelines and total negligence resulting in gross cheating and mass killing of live stocks in sea as well polluting the air. The government intervention at crisis is an example of socialism. BP operations are in more than 100 countries with several reserves are creating chaos for the people working with them and society, showing capitalistic nature safeguarding its profits. The company many a times neglected the workers safety and environmental standards and intentionally avoided the necessary steps that could have stopped many catastrophes that led to many deaths and causalities (Cherry & Sneirson, 2010). The company has to be positive and develop to powerful changing business force at both macro and micro level which impact the business environment. There has to be a balance between the financial and ethical commitments. The company striving to work for only stake holders is not moral and ethical. What was their concern when it comes to the ethical responsibility to society? My sincere feeling is that giant