Shell oil began functioning out of Nigeria in 1937 under the name Shell D’Arcy. Upon discovering the first commercial oil field in 1956 in the Niger Delta, Shell Nigeria began exporting oil in the year of 1958 and has been doing so ever since. At one time, oil exportation was seen as a way to transition from relying solely on the agriculture industry for exportation and move into what was thought to be the booming economy of oil. The locals of the Niger Delta area have experienced little to no growth as a result of Shell Oil’s operations and additionally have experienced negative consequences brought about by the oil company. In this paper, I will argue that Shell Oil's operation in Nigeria has been and continues to be exploitative in nature…
On March 24, 1989, one of the worst recorded oil spills occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska (Seitel, 2011, p.100). A 987-foot tanker from Exxon Mobil Corp., the Exxon Valdez, spilled 260,000 barrels of oil after the intoxicated ship captain “ran aground on a reef 25 miles southwest of the port of Valdez” (Seitel, 2011, p.101). The oil spill damaged over 1,300 square miles of coast line and caused the death of various sea life, including over 4,000 Alaskan sea otters (Seitel, 2012, p.101). Exxon Mobil’s public relations approach to the crisis received criticism and the mistake affected the company nearly twenty years later.…
Oysters hidden in the nooks and crannies of rocks and sediment became contaminated by oil. Through biomagnification, crude oil components, including high molecular weight, lipo-phyllic compounds (with low water solubility), travelled up the food chain, and increased in concentration, thus potentially impacting higher-level consumers. Otters enjoying a meal of contaminated oysters had shorter lifespans (Shogren, 2014). Doug Struck describes how, “The food chain has magnified the effect of the spill in other insidious ways…. As the chemicals in the spilled oil were ingested by animals higher on the food chain, the amount of chemicals, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, accumulated in marine mammals” (Struck, 2009).…
The BP or Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred on April 20, 2010 and came about due to natural gas blasting through a concrete core that was too weak to overcome the pressure of the gas. The natural gas then traveled to the rig’s riser to the platform of the rig where it was ignited. After killing 11 workers, the rig sank and oil began to travel into the gulf after the drilling mud no longer counteracted the pressure of the oil. Even though it has been five years since the BP Oil spill, there is still oil in the surrounding ecosystem even though it is not visible on the surface. A significant amount of oil is on the Gulf’s floor and the oil that traveled into wetlands and beaches is still present and will be present for many more years.…
a) Where and when did the fluid spill occur?: The oil spills both occurred in Alberta. The Little Buffalo Oil Spill occurred on April 2011, and The Red Deer River Oil Spill occurred on June 2012. b) What was the effect on the environment?…
The results showed that there is a significant amount of resilience by the salt marshes of the Gulf of Mexico to large amounts of oil, however, at high saturation levels, the land loss due to erosion is considerable and irreversible. I find this result frightening because as oil demand continues to increase the chances of disasters occurring in its collection or transport are expected. The effect that the Deepwater Horizon disaster had on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystems can be compared to the potential effect the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline could have on terrestrial ecosystems should a disaster occur. Convincing research results could not only help rehabilitate negatively affected ecosystems, but it could potentially prevent the development and usage of technology that could have a large, irreversible effect on the world's…
HOME LAB DEEPWATER HORIZON, PART 1 There is a vast amount of information available regarding the Deepwater Horizon incident. The primary purposes of this lab are (a) to provide you an opportunity to read about the spill incident and the factors effecting environmental concerns, and (b) to help you learn to process the information, especially when it is conflicting, in such a way as to discount ‘bad’ information, acknowledge ‘good’ information, and gain useful knowledge from the overall body of information. Directions: Regarding the Deepwater Horizon Spill, answer the following based on your internet research.…
We are using enormous amount of plastic daily. In fact, we feel that plastic is surrounding us. It becomes indispensable for us (Madren 1). Because it is durable and indestructible and has a low density, it starts to accumulate in huge amounts in our oceans, and moves for hundreds of miles away from the original site of pollution and concentrates in five known ocean gyres (Sun). The situation is really very serious now, because thousands of tons of plastics are polluting our oceans and environment, endangering the whole marine life and ecosystems as well as our own heath Plastics exert its harmful and toxic effect on the marine wildlife as a result of ingesting the plastics, also from leaching of plastic toxins, and from getting entangled in…
Off the coast of Alaska an anthropogenic event prevailed known as the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Monson et al. 2000). The horrendous event occurred on 24th of March in 1989 (Monson et al. 2000). The vessel ran upon the Bligh Reef which is located near Prince William Sound commonly referred to as PWS (Monson et al. 2000). PWS is where most of the research on sea otters after the spill was carried out. Around 42 million liters of Prudhoe Bay crude oil was poured in the Alaskan waters (Monson et al. 2000).…
BP and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill (case analysis) BP is a multinational oil and gas company. This company is headquartered in London, UK. Not so long ago, this company has faced one of the world’s worst environmental tragedies. After its explosion in April 20th, 2010, the company’s situation had kept on getting worse and worse.…
BP and the Deepwater Horizon Disaster of 2010 Case Study Analysis o What lead to the Deepwater Horizon Disaster? The popular oil company known as BP publicly prided itself on the company’s commitment to safety and the environment; however, shifts in leadership roles giving individuals more power caused the company to choose a less costly and more time friendly method of securing the rig for the drillings. This method ultimtely came at a huge cost to the environment as the largest marine oil spill to ever occur in U.S. waters. o One the of the immediate leadership issues outlined in the case is the lack of hierarchy. BP should have continued having multiple leaders sign off on a decision verses allowing a few BP project managers to choose the…
Every year there are 37 million gallons of oil spilt into the ocean. Oil is made over a long process called fossilization, but it only can be found in some parts of the world, including the bottom of the ocean. There are huge ships called oil tankers that transport oil over the world’s waterways, unfortunately, accidents happen and the oil spilled into these waterways. Oil spills could be caused by poor management and the transportation of the oil. These oil spills can be very dangerous, very toxic to the marine life, and the oil will stick in the animal's fur or feathers.…
Oil spills, such as the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill, can dump millions of gallons of crude oil into the ocean causing long term damage. The oil spreads out over the surface of the water, creating a deadly coating. The coating of oil kills off the aquatic life and pollutes the beaches when washed on shore. Seagulls, pelicans and other aquatic birds that spend a lot of time in water are affected the most. When oil sticks to the bird’s feathers, the oil causes the feathers to separate making it less water proof and exposing the bird’s sensitive skin to the environment.…
Even so, oil spills remain an unpleasant reality of offshore oil drilling. Certainly, any amount of oil spilled into the ocean is undesirable, but offshore oil operations contribute relatively little of the oil that enters ocean waters each year. By far the largest source of human caused oil release is through “normal” use of oil products—people just dumping used oil away. According to the National Academies’ National Research Council, natural processes are responsible for over 63% of the petroleum that enters North American ocean waters and over 45% of the petroleum that enters ocean waters worldwide.…
This study communicated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacted coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and contributed to temporary increases in the bioavailable concentration of PAHs. It provided a…