The Pros and Cons of Arctic Oil Drilling (And Why We Should Start Now)
Due to improvements in drilling technologies and weather monitoring, the likelihood of accessing these reserves economically is slowly becoming a reality for many oil and gas companies. President Obama, himself, has expressed his disagreement about this issue. In this blog I will give a summary of the history of Arctic drilling and I will also discuss shortly the environmental concerns and technological and safety risks relating to offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. Fragile Arctic ice and make a spill in the region even more likely. Moreover, with more oil, there will be no need to be on the beck and call of oil suppliers who dictate on its price in the global market. Drilling Versus Fracking Drilling down into the earth, either on land or water, has been the most common way of extracting oil for many years.
The Pros and Cons of Arctic Oil Drilling (And Why We Should Start Now)
Shell has included similar operations in its oil spill response plan for the Arctic. It said the environmental effects continue to grow despite efforts by the oil industry and regulators to minimize them, including new technologies that have reduced off-road travel and made drilling platforms smaller. Along with the technological advancements that bring along the ability to identify oil and gas pockets, ice is rapidly declining in the Arctic Sea. Other potential challenges include remoteness in an already isolated region, communication challenges, collision risk with drifting icebergs, and weather delays while retrieving drilling equipment from the ocean at the end of the season. Critics find this inhumane and abusive of the right of animals. Offshore drilling is a method of extracting petroleum from beneath the sea. The actual ice-free period less than 15 percent ice in the region began on August 4 for the Kara Sea and on July 25 for the Chukchi Sea.
Industry and academic researchers agree, mechanical skimmers can be a viable option, but only if the ice doesn't keep them from contacting the oil. The regulations focus solely on offshore exploration drilling operations within the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas. Mammals such as Polar Bears, Arctic Foxes and various species of seal inhabit the Arctic at different points throughout the year. Are you beginning to see where this is going? By tapping previously inaccessible oil reserves, the nation will see energy costs drastically reduced, which will improve the economic landscape across the country. However, one of the major negative aspects of drilling for oil in Alaska is the damage that it could do to the environment. That equates to about 34 billion barrels of crude in the U. Its mission was to drill and explore in the Chuckchi and Beaufort seas, hoping to find that untapped potential.
How drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could impact wildlife
Advocates of the process claim it is a safe and clean source of energy. Due to improvements in drilling technologies and weather monitoring, the likelihood of accessing these reserves economically is slowly becoming a reality for many oil and gas companies. Supply chains would be lengthy, and exploration seasons limited to four months of the year. Economic Benefits Even as we continue to explore green energy alternatives to fossil fuels, there is no question that oil still holds sway. We will most likely soon see drilling in the Arctic region.
Significant wave data has been recorded over the past three decades for both the Chukchi Sea and the Kara Sea to narrow down potential drilling windows. Long-term planning dictates we must start the development of our Arctic oil resources now. Today, the United States consumes more oil in volume than any other nation. If a blowout were to occur at the end of drilling season in October, surface ice could prevent an effective response. Arctic drilling is still some way off, as the principle company involved , Shell Oil, will still need to obtain numerous clearances to proceed. Consequently, the nation does not really have to rely on other countries for petroleum.
What Are Some of the Pros and Cons of Oil Drilling in Alaska?
Profit comes before the environment. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. How would we get to work? Those are all valid concerns, without question. The nearest deepwater port is hundreds of miles away. Those are all valid concerns, without question.
An additional consideration are the potential positive and negative impacts on local economies, any environmental risks such as disrupting ecosystems and political sensitivities. Temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as the rest of the world and t he sea ice is melting due to the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. First: The Chukchi is shallow. Combining this historical information with new information collected can help predict the start and end dates of future drilling seasons. Second: The potential amount of crude oil located there.
It is important for leaders and government agencies concerned to consider these pros and cons carefully. Third: Further energy security for the U. So is Arctic drilling inevitable? A record ice-melt was recorded in 2012 which also began to allow the Northwest Passage to become navigable. Arctic offshore project, took 22 years from lease sale to production startup. There are several currently accepted methods for dealing with oil spills in open water: Skimming, in-situ burning, and the use of chemical dispersants.
Along with the technological advancements that bring along the ability to identify oil and gas pockets, ice is rapidly declining in the Arctic Sea. This makes it feasible to explore the option of Arctic drilling. The report is expected to provide ammunition to all sides in an ongoing debate over whether to expand drilling into areas where it is now banned, including the adjacent Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Foreign imports of oil cost Americans billions of dollars every year. We do all kind of oil research. After that, it should decline to about 7.
