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Environmental Impacts of Oil Production – Air Emissions
Every year, an average oil platform produces
214,000 pounds of air pollutants, including:– 50 tons of nitrous oxides
– 13 tons of carbon monoxide
– 6 tons of sulfur oxides
– 5 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons
– all precursors to smog, acid rain, global warming
Environmental Impacts of Oil Production – Water Emissions
Drill muds, drill cuttings, production formation water
BTEX: the collective name for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes
volatile aromatic compounds found in discharges, and petroleum oils and its products
BTEX compounds are acutely toxic to aquatic organisms if contact is maintained
BTEX are generally neurotoxic to target organisms.
Benzene, in particular, has also been found to be carcinogenic to mammals and humans.”
Environmental Impacts of Oil Production –Water Emissions
5
Oil and gas operations dump more than 1 billion pounds of
mercury-contaminated drilling fluids into the Gulf each year.
Mercury levels in the sand around some Gulf rigs are three times
higher than levels found at EPA Superfund sites where fishing is
prohibited.
Mercury levels in marine creatures living around these rigs are at
least 25 times higher than in fish found elsewhere in the Gulf…
A single production platform, which can drill 50-100 wells,
discharges over 90,000 metric tons of drilling fluid and metal
cuttings into the ocean.
A single exploratory well dumps approximately 25,000 pounds of
toxic metals into the ocean.
Environmental Health Implications
6
bioaccumulation that may lead to humans (ie radium up
by marine organisms, bioconcentrates into marine
food web)
accumulation of muds and drill cuttings on sea floor
that may smother benthic and other marine
organisms
organic hydrocarbon group, PAH (polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons) are extremely harmful to marine life
Environmental Impacts of Oil Refineries
• Toxic Pollutants of Oil Refineries and its effect on Air Pollution– Oil refineries are one of
the largest sources of air pollution
– Refineries are the fourth largest industrial source of toxic emissions and the single largest industrial source of benzene emissions, a known human carcinogen.
Environmental impacts of Oil Refineries
Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
a) Refineries are the single largest stationary source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the primary precursor of urban smog.
b) refineries release approximately 492 million pounds
of VOCs each year.
c) oil refineries release more than twice as many VOCs as the next highest sector, organic chemical plants.
Major Oil Spills in History
• Anne mild-talk Brovig - to the west of Helgoland, 20 February 1966 -20,000 t crude oil run out after a collision with the British Pentland
• Torrey Canyon before the coast 18. March 1967 • Sea star - gulf of Oman (1972) - 115,000 t crude oil ran out by a
collision • Hawaiian Patriot - Hawaii islands (1977) - 100,980 t crude oil - a
cause: Fire • Ms - French Atlantic coast (1976) - 10,000 t crude oil - a cause: Basic
contact • Amoco Cadiz (BP/Amoco, the USA) - 223,000 t crude oil before the
bretonischen coast, March 1978 • Atlantic Empress - west India (1979) - 257,040 t crude oil - a cause:
Collision
10
Major Oil Spills in History
• Independenta - Turkey (1979) - 94,703 t crude oil - a cause: Collision
• Irenes serenade - Greece (1980) - 81,600 t crude oil - a cause: Fire
• Castillo De Bellver - South Africa (1983) -239,000 t crude oil - a cause: Fire
• Odyssey - Canada (1988) - 136,000 t crude oil -a cause: Fire
11
Major Oil Spills in History• Exxon Valdez (Exxon, the USA) - 40,000 t crude oil in the Prince
Williams Bay, Alaska 24. March 1989 a cause: Basic contact • Haven - Italy (1991) - 100,000 t crude oil - a cause: Fire • Aegean Sea - Spain (1992) - 80,000 t crude oil - a cause: Basic
contact • Braer - 84,700 t light crude oil before the Shetlandinseln, 5 January
1993 • Sea Empress - 72,000 t crude oil before the southwest coast of
Wales, 15 February 1996 • Erika - 26,000 t crude oil in the southern bretonischen coast, 1999 • Jessica - protected area Galapagos islands (2001) - 900 t fuel - a
cause: Navigational error • Prestige - 77,000 t fuel oil, 270 km before the coast of Galicien, 13
November 2002
12
OIL SPILL: CONSEQUENCES
• Animals covered in oil
• Poisoned animals
• No oxygen and no light
• No plankton
• No fishing
• No tourism
19
Exxon Valdez - United States (March 24, 1989)
A US-flagged tanker en
route to Long Beach
California wrecked on Bligh
Reef in Prince William
Sound, Alaska due to
Captain error. Eight of the
eleven tanks damaged,
releasing 41,000 tonnes of
Alaska Northslope Crude
Oil. Contaminated 1,900
kilometers of coast.
Exxon ValdezThis 1989 crude oil spill occurred in the most biological
active season
More than 1,900 kilometres of coast oiled
3,500 to 5,500 sea otter died
200 harbour seals
144 species of dead birds collected
Estimated bird loss ranges from 260,000 to 580,000
60 to 70% colony reduction in Common and Thick-
billed Murres
Exxon Valdez- Oil Reduction in Intertidal Shorelines
Intertidal habitats of the Prince William Sound have shown surprisingly good
recovery. Many shorelines that were heavily oil and then cleaned now
appear much as they did before the spill. There are, however, still oil
vestiges 10 years later.
Surface oiling a study sites in Prince
William Sound
Environmental impacts of Oil exploration, Production and Refining – Case study of the
Niger Delta
20
The Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the third largest wetlands in the world after Mississippi and the Pantanal. It covers an area of about 70,000 square kilometersand is noted for its peculiar and difficult terrain.
The Niger Delta region comprises of nine states, namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross river, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states; 185 local government areas and a population of about 20 million
21
Nigeria
Niger Delta
Africa
Warri
Portharcou
rt
THE NIGER DELTAOne of the richest wetlands in the world
In the Niger Delta there are at least 600 oil fields, over5,000 oil wells, 10 export terminals, 275 flow stations, 10gas plants, 3 refineries and over seven thousand kilometresof pipelines (NNPC 2007)
Oil from the Niger Delta makes Nigeria the largest oilproducer in Africa
Oil accounts for about 14% of Nigeria’s Gross DomesticProduct (GDP), about 95% of its exports and about 80% ofgovernment’s annual revenue (CBN 2006)
Oil Exploration and Extraction in the Niger Delta
Oil exploration in the region started in 1938 and the first oil well was drilled in 1956 while production for export commenced in 1958.
Daily production output has increased from 5,151 barrels in 1958 to 2.2 million barrels in 2006.
The export of the produced crude oil accounts for over 90% of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.
Associated with this oil output is the Associated Gas (AG) which is made up of (CO2), (CH4) and (NOX).
AG has been flared for over four decades.
Estimates put the daily flared gas at 2.5 billion cubic feet with an annual market value of $2.5 billion.
OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FACTS CONT’D
SPILLS IN NIGERIA
Blow out of Texaco Offshore Station in 1980 – 400,000 bbl
Shell Forcados Tank Failure in 1975 – 580,000 bbl
Mobil major pipeline burst in 1997- 450,000bbl
Impacts of OilOil Spills
Destruction of Fisheries
Up to 1.5 million tons of oil have been spilled in this area over the past 50 years, making it one of the most polluted places on the globeplanet
"We never had fish brought in from outside. We had no idea what frozen fish meant. There were rumors that this fish was kept in a mortuary…Today, there is not a single person in my community you could describe as a fisherman. We depend almost totally on frozen fish."
- Isaac Osuoka
GAS FLARING:
Reduces agricultural yield
Develops acid rain
Cause respiratory infection and cancer
Other environment issues include:
1 Effect on aquatic life
2 Effect on vegetation.
IMPACT OF OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
Impacts of Gas Flaring and Venting
Carbon dioxide Particulate matterSulfur dioxideNitrogen dioxides Carcinogenic substances (such as benzapyrene and
dioxin; and unburned fuel components, including benzene, toluene, xylene, and hydrogen sulfide). Methane
Impacts of Gas Flaring and Venting
Greenhouse Gases associated with Global warming (CO2 and CH4).
Acid rain (SO2 and NOx).
Toxins, such as benzene, which pollute the air and may cause respiratory.
High temperatures.
Acid rain brew: emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) + nitrogen oxides (NOx), combine with atmospheric
moisture to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid
• Gas flares release Green House Gases
• Flares release a cocktail of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere contributing to incidents of leukemia, bronchitis, asthma, heart diseases and cancers
• Nature of the Delta: subsidence and sea level rise
Climatic & other impacts
Public Health Issues
Air pollutants are considered “toxic” when they have the potential to cause serious adverse health effects, such as cancer, neurotoxicity, or reproductive toxicity.
Examples of these toxic air pollutants include benzene, a known human carcinogen, and xylenes, which depress the central nervous system, damage the kidneys, and irritate the respiratory system. (Waxman, 2000)
• Approximately 2 Bncf flared daily.
• $22 Million
Impacts of Gas Flaring and Venting -Economic Impacts
Onshore gas flare in Rivers State 2008
2008 (Shell & Agip only)• Gas flared for 2008 in the study area = 1,225,136,995.57• Gas flared in 2008 will give 1,225,136,995.57*1.05GJ• =1,286,393,845.35GJ• MW/hr = 1,286,393,845.35GJ /3.6GJ• = 357,331,623.71MWh• MW/day for 2008 = 1,286,393,845.35GJ /86.4Gj• = 14,888,817.65MWh/day• Therefore approximate hourly megawatt that should be produced
for a year based on these 24 flow stations = 1,286,393,845.35GJ /31,536GJ
= 40,791.28MWh/year
38
The politics of gas flaring• LAWS: Nigerian Petroleum Act of 1969 AND Gas Re-Injection Act of 1981
• One of the largest sources of gas flaring in the world
• World Bank (1995): Nigeria flares 76% of gas during oil exploitation This equals about 25% of the UK's total natural gas consumption
• NNPC (2007): gas flaring dropped to about 40% in 2006.
2001: 1,620,735,427 mscf gas produced, 50.52% flared
2002: 1,822,922,111 mscf gas produced, 45.05% flared
2003: 1,830,302,769 mscf gas produced, 46.31% flared
2004: 2,082,283,189 mscf gas produced, 42.55% flared
2005: 2,093,628,859 mscf gas produced, 38.80% flared
• Agreed dates to end gas flaring:
1984, 2004, 2008
COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
Category of Cost % of GDP
Health (human capital) 3.46
Waterborne diarrhea 1.28
Urban air pollution 0.47
Indoor air pollution 1.71
COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION CONT’D
Land (productivity &
remediation)
3.53
Forest depletion 1.42
Agricultural land degradation 0.41
Floods 1.70
Oil pollution 0.46
Oil spills 0.08
Gas flaring (potential in
carbon trade)
0.38