Offshore Drilling

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Offshore drilling and research has evolved with time, the demand for fossil fuel has really made geologist and engineers comb every area to look for ways to combat demand. Offshore oil extraction currently accounts for 37% of global production. Presently 28% of global gas production takes place offshore and this is increasing.(offshore natural gas and oil production was restricted to shallow waters such as the North sea or coastal areas around the US.(world ocean review.com). Since many older deposits have become exhausted, companies have increasingly moved into deeper waters. Separate depth categories are defined as: shallow water production water depth of less than 400 meters, deep-water production at depths up to 1500 meters and ultra deep-water production at depths greater than 1500 meters. With latest high-resolution geophysical exploration technology, scientists are now able to detect oil and gas deposits in the sea bed and other geological strata to a depth of 12 kilometers. Consequently, many major new deposits have been discovered or newly …show more content…
oil accounted for around 33% of world primary energy consumption in 2011, followed by coal and natural gas with around 30 and 24% respectively. The reminder comes from nuclear energy, hydro-power and other re-newables energy source such as solar and wind energy.

The figure shows global primary energy consumption in 2011.

Offshore oil fields can now be exploited at ever greater depth. New drilling techniques allow more oil to be pumped out of the deposits than before. Recent studies shows that 481 larger fields were found in deep and ultra-deep waters between 2007 and 2012, accounting for more than 50% of newly discovered larger oil fields.

A glance at the volumes of offshore oil and gas fields newly discovered between 2007 and 2012 clearly shows that the bulk of the resource is located at depths of more than

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Offshore Drilling

In the article “ Should the United State stop all new offshore drilling for oil,” Michael F. Hirshfield the Oceana vice president and chief scientist says offshore drilling is a “ dirty and dangerous business.” Hirshfield based his statement on the 2010 British Petroleum Horizon drilling explosion that happen in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion injured 17 worked and killed 11-platform worker. In addition, the explosion caused a gas leak that lasted for three month. Also, the spoil caused physical…

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As gas prices continue to hover around 4 dollars a gallon were hearing a cry for relief at the pump. Many people see offshore drilling as the answer and public support for offshore drilling has risen 18 over the last three years. Most people forget at what cost this oil has come with. On April 20, 2010 the offshore oil drilling rig Deep water Horizon exploded. It killed 11 workers and released 5 million barrels, or 200 million gallons, of oil into the Gulf of Mexico making it the worst environmental…

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After the BP oil spill, there were many changes to offshore drilling that were put into place for the good of everyone involved. The first step in more regulation came about on July 26, 2010, when the HOR passed a pair of bills that were aimed at promoting safer deep-water drilling and providing a better response and cleanup for oil spills. Also, the Senate Committee passed legislation to give the Coast Guard more resources to prevent future spills from happening. The first bill, the research and…

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produces (Tainter & Patzek, 2012). The demands for cheap energy continue to drive our economy, so much so that to stop off-shore drilling could be detrimental to the economy. One of the concepts described in Chapter 1 of the textbook was the idea that an increase in the price of supply results in decreased inventory and increases the price of the product. If off-shore drilling were to stop, the oil supply would be reduced and prices would naturally rise. An increase in expenditure for oil products would…

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taken soon so out country can get back on its feet. Some solutions that should be taken are; more offshore oil drilling, government regulated oil economy, and for the Obama Administration to give the OK on the proposed keystone XL pipeline. With these solutions it will increase American Oil production and therefore decrease American gas prices. The first solution would be to create more offshore drilling for energy. The Outer Continental Shelf, (OCS), supplies the most oil and natural gas than any…

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pressurised water and chemicals to break apart rocks within the crust of the Earth. The ultimate goal of the process is to release oils and gases that can be used for fossil fuels. In Southern California alone, there are more than two hundred of these offshore drilling sites, and all of them pose a threat to the ocean. One of the biggest concerns that comes from fracking is the direct pollution it adds to the ocean. In the case of an oil spill, humans will not be affected the most, rather marine life. Many…

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