Impact of Oil and Gas Industry on Environment

Question: Describe the impact of oil and gas industry on environment. Answer: Overview of Oil and gas in our life: Oil and gas are used widely in our day to day life. The modern lifestyles and modern economies are nothing without the oil fuels which are used in cars, trucks and planes. The plastics and other chemicals or the various lubricants like tars, waxes etc are produced by the byproducts of the oil refining. Many pesticides and various fertilizers are made either from the oil or the byproducts of the oil. On the other hand electricity is (Institute (2012))provided by gas and also gas is normally used for cooking, heating water and heating building and houses. Various industrial operations are fueled by the oil which includes aluminum, nickel smelters and other manufacturing industries. The fertilizers are produced by gas. Gas can also be used in the form of CNG of LNG. Oil and gas are the most important energy sources in the world. Currently 90million barrels of oil are required for various other purposes other than using it for transport or energy as a fuel. Currently the future of fuel i s not clear as the end of gas and oil production is not yet in sight. But the fact that the reservoirs will be depleted at some point of time is already known because oil is being consumed four times that is being discovered in the reservoirs. Hence we shall try to use the resources sensibly. This is the reason that the oil heating is replaced by the other sources of energy. Along with this oil remains a crucial raw material for the industry such as the chemical industry. As the gas and the oil industry is global due to various operations conducted in every corner of globe it cannot be said that oil industry does not harm the society in general. There are various ecological side effects of the exploitation of gas and oil reserves.(Raymond Leffler (2006)) Overview of oil and Gas exploration and production process: There are two parts of which the oil and gas industry is comprised of one is the upstream and the other is the downstream. (Richard. (2000))Upstream is mainly the production and the exploration sector of the industry whereas the downstream sector is the sector dealing with the processing and the refining of the crude oil and the gas products and distribution of the same. The various principle steps in the production of oil and gas are as follows: Exploration surveying: There were major sedimentary basins identified in the process of hydrocarbon bearing in the rock formation. A field geological method is used to know more detailed information. For measuring the variations a magnetic method is used which reflects the character of the rocks which are present. One of the most common methods of assessment is seismic survey it is used to identify the geological structures and the sound wave properties.(Mariano (2010)) Exploration Drilling: After identification of the promising geological structure the exploratory holes are dug in order to know the intensity and thickness of the reservoirs internal pressure. The wells that are dug to discover the hydrocarbons are known as the exploration wells. A pad is constructed on the site that is chosen for the land based operations. Appraisal: After the successes of exploratory drilling more wells need to be drilled so that the extent and the size of the field is determined. Appraisals wells or out step wells are the wells which are drilled to quantify the hydrocarbon reserves. The size and the nature of the reservoir is determined at the appraisal stage.(UNEP (2012)) Development and production: The production and development wells are the wells which are drilled after establishing the size of the field. During the appraisal wells one or more small reservoir may be developed. For drilling larger wells additions production wells are required. (Goal.Lumban Chaxzko (2014)) Factor impacting of the oil and gas exploration on Environment: Oil and gas industry is not free from hazards. This industry holds the major hazards for the environment and further impacts the oil, water and soil in different levels. One of the most hazardous consequences of oil and gas industry is pollution. Pollution is caused by almost all the activities which are carried on by this very industry. There are about 800 different chemicals which are generated during the process of drilling, transportation, refining and production of oil and gas. Some of the other environmental impacts included in the list of this industry are acid rain, contamination of the ground water, poor water quality and the intensification of the green house. There is the loss of biodiversity as well due to the oil and gas industry more over it contributes to the destruction of the ecosystem.(Looney (2012)) There is a proper documentation of the impacts of the oil and gas industry on the environment. Still it is very important to protect the environment from the impacts of these industries by taking important and suitable measures. The major polluters to the environment are the oil refiners as they consume large amount of energy and water and produces large waste waters and further releases hazardous gases. Though the oil industry affects the society in the negative way still it plays a positive role in the environment as well as by creating different job opportunities for the people and generating tax revenues and royalties for the government.(Devold (2013)) Impact of oil and gas Production on Environment The oil and gas industry impacts the environment to a great extent. Some of the effects of this industry are included below: Human and cultural Impacts: There may be changes in land use patterns, logging, hunting etc Changes may occur in the socio economic systems as there will be new employment opportunities , inflation, differences in per capita income(Kao (1998)) The socio cultural systems may change like there might be change in the organization structure, practices and beliefs. Changes might take place in the planning activities. Aquatic Impacts: The impacts of the oil and gas industry on the aquatic life include the following: The industry contaminates the water by discharging various effluents in to the water and hence renders the water unsuitable for drinking. The inorganic salts which are discharged in to the water without appropriate treatment also contaminate the water. These industries create thermal pollution by discharging the effluents whose temperature is higher than the water bodies in which these are being discharged. The oil spills which are discharged by the oil and gas industry contaminates the water. The ocean discharges affect the benthic organisms through the hydrocarbon levels which rises up to 800 meters.(Spooner (2012)) Ecosystem Impacts: During the production and refining processes carried out in these industries many particulate emissions are discharged by them which contaminate the environment. During the refining and production process the sulphur and nitrogen gases are emitted which are very harmful for the environment. These industries often release a hazardous material occasionally which contaminates the environment to a large extent. Various solid wastes are disposed of by these industries which contaminates the soil and the ground water. Potential Emergencies: The industries often use machines which are very noisy and hence they create noise pollution. There are various accidents caused by these industries like fire, oil spill This often causes war and sabotage There are chances of leaks and explosions on the plants. At times there are oil and gas well blow outs Measures which can take to minimize the impacts above are: The impact of the oil and gas industry is very harsh on the environment so it is required that proper measures are taken from time to time to overcome these issues. Some of the measures which can be taken are as follows: It shall be taken care that no waste waters are discharged in to the river, lakes till these water wastes are treated properly. In order to remove the contaminants from the water the water shall be well treated by evaporation, oil and grease separation, aeration, reverse osmosis etc which depends upon the type of contaminates to be removed from the water. Whenever there is liquid discharge in to the water bodies these discharge shall comply with the laws and standards which are adopted in different countries. There shall be proper drainage system where the materials that may seep due to rain can be stored in order to avoid contamination of rain water. The areas where the products and the raw materials are to be stored shall be water proofed and there shall be proper drainage system so that there shall be proper treatment of wash water and spills. The equipment like cyclones electorate precipitators, bag filters can be used to particulate the emissions. Water scrubbers can be used to control the acidic emissions like sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Water sprays can be used to control the dust emissions from patios and outdoor areas. Carbon absorption and wet scrubbers can be used to control the gas emissions. In order to prevent the occasional leaks of oil and gas preventive maintenance of equipment is required along with the proper storage tanks. Dikes and catch basins can be used to prevent hazardous material storage tanks. Before disposing the solid wastes finally which cannot be recycled properly shall be treated properly. Possible methods shall be used for the treatment depending on the nature of waste which includes controlled landfill disposal, chemical immobilization, burning in cement kilns or incineration. If the treatments of treating the waste are unavailable then the waste can be treated in other plants where the treatment facilities are available in which there shall be special care in case of transportation of the water. In case there arises a issue where the waste cannot be treated then the wastes shall be stored in the plant sites and facilities shall be made for the same. In order to reduce the impacts and the risks of the accident the system conditions of the roads shall be accessed properly during the feasibility study. The buildings which hold loud equipments shall be sound proofed so that there are less chances of noise pollution. Measures shall be taken to prepare emergency response plans in case there are any kind of emergencies these plans can be implemented. Environmental Protection Measures: Implementation at the site: There should be adequate personal and financial resources in order to ensure that the environmental protection measures are implemented properly. The objectives and the policies of the company shall be displayed on all the sites of the organization. Each site shall develop its own objectives and shall take care that those objectives are fulfilled. The site manager shall initiate different strategic objectives for different sites. (Water (2013))The implementation manager shall take care of his roles and responsibilities. There shall be sufficient representatives with sufficient knowledge at each site. There is a wide variety of documentation which is required to describe the functions and responsibilities of the management system.(Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing (2011)) Monitoring at the site: Monitoring takes care that the plans are met and commitments are met. For this direct measurement of the information gathered is required. Monitoring means measuring the actual performance with the planned though surveillance, inspection and analysis. Proper follow up of the plans and in case there are non compliance of any planned actions corrective measures shall be taken in to consideration. There shall be proper audit and review procedures that shall be established by the company from time to time to check any kind of deficiencies. Proper care shall be taken that the procedures and instructions are followed at all levels. Relevant environmental protection measures shall be taken so that in case there are any chances of loss of environment that shall be known earlier only. Recommendations: It has been seen that oil and gas industry poses different threats on the environment but it has also proved to be profitable for the environment in many different ways so it is very important to take different measures to save the environment from the hazards of the oil and gas industry so that the production can be carried in such a way that is only profitable and not hazardous to the environment. Bibliography Devold, H (2013), Oil and Gas Production Handbook. Goal.Lumban Chaxzko, Z (2014), Advances in Intelligent Systems: - Page 26, illustrated edn, WIT Press, 2014. Institute, AP (2012), Energy API, viewed 15 March (2016), https://www.api.org/Oil-and-Natural-Gas-Overview. Kao, C-K (1998), Environmental Regulation of Oil and Gas - Page 306, Kluver Law International Limited. 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