Environmental Impacts of Oil

Exploration, Production, Refining and

Transportation

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Environmental Degradation

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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
 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.

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 Environmental Health Implications
 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

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 Environmental Impacts of Oil
• Toxic Pollutants of Oil
Refineries
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.
Oil Spills
 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

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 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

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 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

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Fate and Effect of Spilled Oil
 OIL SPILL: CONSEQUENCES
• Animals covered in oil
• Poisoned animals
• No oxygen and no light
• No plankton
• No fishing
• No tourism

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Oil Spill Consequence

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Will you visit this beach on holiday ?
 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 Valdez
This 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

Surface oiling a study sites in Prince

William Sound

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.
Environmental impacts of Oil exploration,
Production and Refining – Case study of the
Niger Delta

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 The Niger Delta
 The Niger Delta is the third Africa

largest wetlands in the world Nigeria

after Mississippi and the

Pantanal. It covers an area of
about 70,000 square kilometers
and is noted for its peculiar and Niger Delta
difficult terrain.
 The Niger Delta region Warri
comprises of nine states,
namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom,
Bayelsa, Cross river, Delta, Edo, Portharcou
Imo, Ondo and Rivers states; rt

185 local government areas and

a population of about 20 million

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 THE NIGER DELTA
One of the richest wetlands in the world
In the Niger Delta there are at least 600 oil fields, over
5,000 oil wells, 10 export terminals, 275 flow stations, 10
gas plants, 3 refineries and over seven thousand kilometres
of pipelines (NNPC 2007)
Oil from the Niger Delta makes Nigeria the largest oil
producer in Africa
Oil accounts for about 14% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), about 95% of its exports and about 80% of
government’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.
Nembe: Shell pipeline fire December
21, 2005
Bomadi: Effects of oil spillage from Shell pipeline 7 weeks after
Foutorogbene: A palm tree farm destroyed by oil spill from
Shell’s flow station
Ogoni Land: An oil spill
Gas flaring in the Niger Delta as seen from
space
 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 Oil
Oil Spills
Destruction of Fisheries

"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

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
 IMPACT OF OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
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.
 Impacts of Gas Flaring and Venting
Carbon dioxide
Particulate matter
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen 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.
Climatic & other impacts • Gas flares release Green
House Gases
• Flares release a cocktail of
Acid rain brew: emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) + toxic chemicals into the
nitrogen oxides (NOx), combine with atmospheric atmosphere contributing
moisture to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid to incidents of leukemia,
bronchitis, asthma, heart
diseases and cancers
• Nature of the Delta:
subsidence and sea level
rise
 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)
FLOW
STATION
10I– no2
FEBRUARY
 Impacts of Gas Flaring and Venting -
Economic Impacts

• Approximately 2 Bncf flared daily.

• $22 Million
 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

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 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 & 3.53
remediation)
Forest depletion 1.42

Agricultural land degradation 0.41

Floods 1.70

Oil pollution 0.46

Oil spills 0.08

Gas flaring (potential in 0.38

carbon trade)
 COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
CONT’D
Other global damages 1.12

Gas flaring (global) 0.39

Other CO2 0.73
Total 8.57