Issues |
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Economic Opportunities for Developing Countries |
Backgrounder
Top Ten Offshore Drilling Sites Most At-Risk
U.S. Gulf States
The current oil spill will mark one of the world’s worst oil disasters and the largest U.S. environmental disasters. Estimates put the current clean-up bill at $1.43 Billion and rising. Scientists have estimated the spill to be upwards of 60-100,000 barrels per day. The spill has decimated fisheries with the U.S. government declaring a "fishery disaster" in the seafood-producing states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Marine life, wildlife refuge habitats and breeding grounds have been devastated.
Australia – Margaret River (Western Australia’s South West Coast)
Recently approved exploration area located 85 km off the Coast of Margaret River, the same site was earmarked for a potential marine sanctuary. Up to 90% of the marine life in the southwest corner of Australia is unique to the region. This is the first time such developments have been approved for areas that are also being considered for marine sanctuaries.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) - Area 1002
ANWR comprises 77,000 km2 of the north Alaskan coast. It is the largest protected wilderness in the US. Drilling for oil in the subsection in the coastal plain (6,100km2) known as “1002 area”. Potential harm oil exploration might have on natural wildlife, in particular calving ground of 129,000 Porcupine Caribou, foxes and den habitat for the vanishing polar bear. 1002 area has a greater degree of ecological diversity than any other area of Alaska’s north slope. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would irreversibly damage a protected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy security. In addition, the technical challenges are significant because the required network of oil platforms, pipelines, roads and support facilities. In comparison to the Gulf Region, there is no adequate plan and even less equipment for responding to a blowout in the Arctic Ocean.
Canada – Orphan Basin, Newfoundland
Located 430km northeast of St. John’s – Chevron is currently drilling the deepest exploration well ever drilled in Canadian waters – ultra-deep water drilling is considered a risky practice. National Energy Board oversees the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Boards, joint federal-provincial agencies that oversee drilling off Canada’s Atlantic Coast. The NEB relaxed environmental regulations and has shifted from a prescriptive regulatory framework to one that encourages industry to meet soft regulatory outcomes - well operators must set environmental-protection goals for themselves (a good comparison is the deregulation of the US financial sector before the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in 2007).
Australia – Montara - Timor Sea (Northern Coast of Western Australia)
Considered one of Australia’s worst oil disasters. The slick was released following a blowout from the Montara wellhead platform on August 21, 2009, and continued leaking until November 3, 2009, when pumping mud into the well and cementing the wellbore halted the leak and “capped” the blowout. The Montara oil well had no blowout preventer on the sea floor. This area is a “marine superhighway” with endangered pygmy whales and endangered turtles, spinner dolphins, seabirds, spotted sea snake. The spill has affected the Indonesian islands of Timor and Sumba’s traditional fishing grounds with dramatic declines in red snapper and fishers in West Timor going bankrupt. Insurance companies will pick up the tab for the drillers and the rig owners. The dolphins, whales, fish, turtles and birds that are harmed or killed by the oil spill are not so fortunate.
North Sea – West Coast of Shetland Isles
Companies continue to drill in deeper and deeper waters in the most extreme weather conditions. This year the UK government agreed to offer millions of pounds worth of tax breaks to oil companies seeking to develop the ultra-deep waters off the west coast of the Shetland Isles. This presents technical challenges include moving pack ice combined with ultra-deep water drilling. Studies found the presence of oil accelerated the melt of sea ice. Spill would inflict considerable damage on mammals, seabirds, and marine ecosystem.
Nigeria – Niger Delta
Every year since 1969, oil operations in the Niger Delta have spilled as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez. Nigeria’s abysmal petroleum record stems from explosive politics, weak environmental regulations, and corruption. Oil has generated an estimated 600 billion dollars since the 1960s. Despite this, many people in the oil-producing areas have to drink, cook, and wash with polluted water, and eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins. Oil spills have decimated fish stocks and seriously damaged agricultural land, destroying the natural environment that over 60% of people in the region depend on for their livelihood.
Russia – The Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is subject to dangerous storm winds, severe waves, icing of vessels, intense snowfalls and poor visibility. During ice-free period, wave heights range between 1-3m, can reach 19m during storm conditions. Sea agitation can cause technical challenges for drilling.
Brazil – Santos Basin
Tupi oil field - located off the coast south of Rio de Janeiro. Tupi is located below a layer of salt that in some places is up to 6,500 feet thick. Brazilian oil giants want to start exploring the region – but scientists and geologists are unaware of what they’re getting into. The salt layer is similar in viscosity to sludge, and explorers have traditionally tried to avoid going through such formations.
Alaska’s North Shore – Chukchi and Beaufort Seas
Exploratory drilling is not prepared for a disaster response. Increasing ice melt has opened up the area for drilling, but a spill would be disastrous. Responding to a major oil spill would be a logistical nightmare – remote location and the weather has intense snowfalls and poor visibility. Slicks would be difficult to see in the winter, with the sun barely, or never, coming over the horizon. Scientists are still working on how to model the spread of oil in icy water.