The Risk of Offshore Drilling for Oil and

The Risk of Offshore Drilling for Oil and Gas BY: JOHN MALLEY, WILLIAM NIEVES, KEVIN PEREZ, REILLY PETERS

What is Offshore Drilling Extraction process where companies access oil deposits under the ocean floor Mostly placed over the continental shelf but can be located in other areas Many Different Types including: Drilling Barges Jack-up rigs Drill Ships

Brief History of Offshore Drilling 1897 a California businessman built a 300 foot peer into the ocean and began drilling in the Summerland oil field and produced great results 1911 Gulf refining company attempted to abandon the piers and drill from barges over the top of the deposits This process was extremely successful and changed the future of offshore drilling in a major way 1950’s the jack up rig had been introduced and became more popular. With the end of the World war’s the oil drilling industry began to boom in a major way.

Effects of Offshore Drilling Pollution is eminent due to: Spillage Fires aboard the rig Abandonment of rigs Who/What is effected Humans Birds Fish and other Marine Life Also Consider the Economic impacts of the cleanup efforts and loss of product for seafood companies.

Deepwater Horizon Spill In 2010 a BP oil drilling rig had an incident and leaked around 210 MILLION gallons of oil into the gulf of Mexico This Spill affected an estimated: 82, 000 birds 6, 000 Sea turtles 29, 500 Marine Mammals 500 Species of Fish Other invertebrates and Plant Spicies The cost of clean up for this spill was an estimated $62 BILLION

Deepwater Horizon Spill Cont.

For Offshore Drilling Those who are for offshore drilling say that it aids in lowering gas and oil prices They also claim that it will diminish our dependency on foreign oil and help the United States get closer to complete energy independency Forbes says that the oil drilling industry produced around $27 Billion in revenues in 2017 Another point for pro offshore drilling is the amount of jobs created with more of these drill sites being created

Against Offshore Drilling The Pollution that comes from the oil rigs is extremely dangerous and does not only affect the marine life but birds and humans as well. Not only is spillage dangerous but when rigs catch fire it pollutes the atmosphere aswell Claims that we need to see more than just money and need to think about the long term effects of this Oil Spills and pollution affects the seafood industry in a negative way Seafood industry accounts for about $290 Million in sales and$105 Million in revenue The cost to clean up spills and pollution is devastating and can cost the united states greatly in the long run

Economic Impacts As previously stated the Commercial Seafood industry accounts for about $290 Million in sales and$105 Million in revenue. If a spill occurs or the pollution in general kills off or relocates marine life this industry will take a huge hit The cost of cleaning spills and the relief efforts cost the government and other companies a significant amount of money

Our Position As a group we are against off shore drilling for the following reasons: The harm that the pollution and spills have on marine life, this is their ecosystem that is being slowly destroyed. The affect it can have on a huge industry and that it could negatively impact the economy The potential health impacts it can have on humans considering we eat the fish and seafood that may be contaminated The impact that fires and off gassing may have on earths atmosphere.

Works Cited https: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill#Deepwater_Hori zon_drilling_rig https: //www. biologicaldiversity. org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_ene rgy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/a_deadly_toll. html https: //www. usatoday. com/story/money/2016/07/14/bp-deepwater-horizoncosts/87087056/ https: //www. nrdc. org/experts/franz-matzner/offshore-drilling-dirtydangerous-and-unnecessary https: //aoghs. org/offshore-history/offshore-oil-history/ https: //petrowiki. org/History_of_offshore_drilling_units