The Drilling For Oil Drilling

Environmentalists are one the biggest critics against the notion of increasing domestic oil drilling. By increasing the amount of drilling we do in the United States, we increase the risk of disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Disasters are hardly the only source of economic damage either, to find oil reserves under the ocean, seismic waves are generated into the ground. These waves bounce off the ground back up to the ship, where computers and scientist can use the results to make educated guesses on whether or not oil is located under the surface. These seismic waves can wreak havoc with marine animals like whales; where in one case over 100 whales beached themselves to get away from the painful experience (Nixon). Using seismic waves does not even guarantee that oil might be located underneath the surface, the only way to tell is to actually drill into the potential finds causing even more destruction for what might be for no gain. Once oil is found and drilling has begun, the amount of damage done to the environment can become unimaginable. The recent example is that of the Deepwater

Offshore drilling has become an essential part of today’s oil production and demand for energy. With the growth of population comes the increasing demand for oil. The oil industry today, is one of the most used providers of energy. Today in the 20th century the majority of the population in America has a car and cars needs gas to run. The oil reserves in the earth that are easily accessible via land are starting to run dry and are becoming harder to find. This is why we have begun to see more and more offshore oil drills. Although there are benefits of offshore drilling such as profit, lower gas prices, and becoming less dependent on foreign oil. There are also many drawbacks in which if something were to go wrong, the mistake would be catastrophic impacting the environment, the nature, and have trickling effects all around the world.

Offshore oil drilling is a big contribution to obtaining oil for the U.S., but it is also a big controversy to continue offshore drilling or to stop the drilling. most of the world’s energy comes from the use of oil, even though there are other resources to use oil is the most commonly used, But there is a shortage in oil especially in the U.S. so they suggest drilling for oil in the ocean to reach unexplored oil wells. There are benefits in offshore oil drilling such as jobs, domestic fuel, and environmental benefits. Those that argue the U.S. should expand the offshore oil drilling believe that the benefits drilling brings will help the U.S. out of its foreign oil dependency. Although the side effects are have big impacts just like the benefits. The side effects include environmental risks, oil dependency, and whether or not there is enough oil. Offshore oil drilling is a subject not many know about, there is a lot of research that still needs to be done and a lot of research that still does not give positive conclusions. All in all I believe Energy Efficiency is the best solution to offshore drilling an example would be using electric cars, using solar, and wind power for electricity, and changing how we obtain energy altogether.

Offshore drilling is a topic of extreme debate and argument and one of the most debated parts of that is whether or not it benefits the economy in the U.S. One of the first things to note is that stopping offshore drilling could potentially damage the U.S. economy, and therefore how much energy we can overall use. According to Mason, Joseph R., author of, "The Oil Industry Supports Many Louisiana and Gulf Region Economies", we can see the statement, "the moratorium would produce broad economic losses within the Gulf and throughout the nation as a whole". We can gather, from this, that ceasing offshore drilling/offshore oil production, could potentially harm the U.S. economy, and as I said before the economy being damaged overall decides

Americans have been drilling for oil for more than half of their existence. Before the 1850’s oil was of little use and had no market for commerce as there was not one overwhelming use for it. Until around the 1850’s, when technology advanced, with it sparking search for one of the most sought after natural resources that countries would later go to war over, petroleum oil. Early inventions like the kerosene lamp provided a new stable home necessity to live by, increasing the demand for crude oil. This would be met in part by Colonel Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in 1858. While Drake’s invention for extracting crude oil from the ground would bring about a new era for industrialization, his “black gold” would bring about an even larger effect, the environmental disasters caused by man. For over one hundred and fifty years of drilling for oil, both on shore and offshore, has led to some of the worst catastrophes to both nature and mankind. While many of these catastrophes have led to the deaths of hundreds of crew members, they have also led to long lasting effects on the environment, local and national economies, legislation, regulations, and human morale. These following effects can be seen in the most recent and most contaminated marine oil spill in history. To the media and public it’s known as the British Petroleum offshore drilling oil spill in 2010.

Still people make the argument that oil is just too important to stop drilling and that if anything we should drill more. Again author Margaret Haerens talks about how “According to the nation academy of Sciences, current cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of the oil spilled into the ocean, leaving the remaining oil to continue affecting ocean ecosystems over time” (126). The long term impacts of offshore spills continue to corrupt the oceans and who knows when they will completely be gone. The effects of the oil directly on sea life such as sea birds, fish, shellfish, and other sea life are extremely dangers. “Studies have shown that tiny amounts of oil – as little as one part per billion – can harm pink salmon and cause their eggs to fail” (Haerens Margaret). Imagine swimming in the ocean when a large pool of toxic oils comes floating along right into you when you are trying to enjoy a day at the beach. Not only is offshore drilling have one of the longest lasting ecological impacts on society and living things on and off shore, it effects our economy as well.

The approval of new oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters by the Obama administration in 2010 off the coast of Virginia, the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and various parts of the Atlantic sparked outrage among environmental activists, organizations and local mayors. So much so that the Obama administration decided to shelve Atlantic drilling altogether. Offshore oil drilling has been a controversial issue for nearly decades stemming from concerns about the impact of oil spills on marine life and our overall ecological environment. While, many would argue that the benefits of offshore drilling outweigh the risks, the truth of the matter is that in the long run the degradation caused by oil spills and its exacerbation in the factors leading to global warming make it a potential threat not only to the organisms living under the sea but deplete the earth of essential fossil fuels that may diminish faster than they can be replenished. The oil that is in abundance now, may not be there tomorrow. The argument against offshore oil drilling

Oil is a very important fossil fuel that is used for various sources of energy. Oil supplies power to industries, fuel for transportation, heat for buildings, and provides raw material for plastics, paints, textiles, and other materials (hybrid cars). To access this fossil fuel, oil drilling is used. Land-based oil drilling became less productive and as the global stipulation for energy increased, technology, law, and geology impacts stepped in and pushed the exploration of oil away from shores (CITE). With its historical background, offshore oil drilling is one of the most important aspects of today’s economy although we are faced with its risks and consequences, such as the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion of the Gulf of Mexico.

As offshore drilling was a new industry, regulations had to develop at the same time the industry developed. Unfortunately regulations were usually enacted and enforced after accidents had already occurred. Analyzing the development of the offshore oil industry in comparison to the process of regulating its operations will show the international, national, and local processes involved in attempting to balance the economic benefits with the environmental risks involved. An applicable example for showing the relationship between the environment and the economy created by the offshore oil industry is the drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Even though offshore oil drilling may increase the national budget of a nation, it destroys the environment in return by contaminating water. If oil spills are not prevented, than humans and animals will be killed by drinking the contaminated water. When oil is drilled from under the ocean, other substances including mercury, arsenic, and lead are also brought up into the water. This is serous because these substances are all fatal to sea creatures. Seismic waves are used to find oil underwater, but they confuse and harm many different sea

Oil spills usually occur as temporary accidents, while pollution from trucks happens every day. Therefore, offshore drilling does not contaminate the water as badly as the United States thinks.

The environmental risks associated with offshore completions are similar to other oil and gas well drilling operations. Extemporaneous releases of hydrocarbons to the environment can occur during drilling or completion of the well. Macondo was not the first oil spill accident in offshore platforms, and will not be the last either. Oil spill is the main reason of environmental hazard with the flow of tons of oil into the sea water degrading marine and wildlife. While oil spilling is a regular phenomenon in the offshore industry (498 blowouts worldwide during 1970-2007), it not only affects the marine ecosystem, but also increases the water depth in the drilling area.

The offshore drilling industry can be split into 5 key markets: upgrade market, contract drilling market, second-hand market, scrap market and contract drilling market. Among them contract drilling market is most important, because it ensures smooth cash flow between markets. drilling units is summarised in the table below.

Many oil companies, like Standard, practice offshore oil drilling. This method of oil extraction, obtaining oil by drilling at deposits under the ocean, is not vital to the US economy since it contributes less than other industries along the coast, such as the tourism, clean energy, and fishing. Oil drilling near the shores of the coastline also harms wildlife. Offshore drilling disasters destroy the coastal environment and the industries that depend on it. US government regulations on offshore oil drilling are essential.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.