Environmental Impacts of Oil Exploration, Production, Refining and

Transportation

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Environmental Degradation

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

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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

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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.

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 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

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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

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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.

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 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)

FLOW STATION 10I– no2

FEBRUARY

• 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

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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 &

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

COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION CONT’D

Other global damages 1.12

Gas flaring (global) 0.39

Other CO2 0.73

Total 8.57