Letting shell drill in arctic could lead to catastrophic oil. International experts in the field of oil spill response, including reprsentatives from 26. Recommendations on oil spill prevention, response, and safety in the u. Oil spill prevention and response and deepwater horizon. View table of contents for handbook of oil spill science and technology. Nosca the norwegian oil spill control association is to satisfy a common need within the industry, the oil companies and public institutions to join forces and resources in order to improve the overall knowledge base of oil spill prevention and response. The findings from this study are further evidence that the department of interior should not consider additional arctic oil and gas leases without the necessary spill prevention and response technologies in place. Nov 11, 2010 but the report, oil spill prevention and response in the us arctic ocean, by the pew environment group, warns that oil companies are not ready to deal with a spill, despite the lessons of the bp. That structure matters in the event of an oil spill. International governance of oil spills from upstream.
Purchase oil spill science and technology 2nd edition. Aug 28, 2015 a selection of relevant publications from the peace palace library collection. Ship owners and operators subject to the oil spill prevention. The 2010 deepwater horizon oil spill disaster may have had a lasting impact upon even the smallest organisms in the gulf of mexico, scientists have found. Discover librarianselected research resources on oil pollution from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. Imo field guide oil spill response and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Letting shell drill in arctic could lead to catastrophic oil spill, experts warn. Recommendations on oil spill prevention, response, and safety the search for oil is reaching into ever more remote corners of the world, including the u. S the pew charitable trusts is not opposed to offshore drilling, but a balance must be achieved between responsible energy development and protection of the environment. The ultimate goal of the arctic oil spill response technology jip was continue to build confidence in the available response tools, in which to extend their capabilities with new strategies and challenges of arctic oil spill response planning, both with systems and to provide a better. Mervin fingas has over 40 years of experience in oil and chemical spill research. Before joining eli, sierra worked on environmental policy issues including the transportation of oil in the salish sea region, adaptation to climate change in coastal california, and oil spill prevention in us arctic waters. Treaty regulation of arctic oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response.
An introduction and inventory of research activities and usarc recommendations u. May 08, 2015 the many unknowns of inevitable arctic oil spills. Shell ceo admitted hes not familiar with companys arctic oil spill response plan by may 20, 2015 july 24, 2015 written by kyla mandel desmogblog may 20, 2015 july 24, 2015. Alyeska also has 350 fishing boats on contract as part of its plan. A selection of relevant publications from the peace palace library collection. Arctic sunrise, arne sorenson, was quoted as saying, we simply overlooked something and well comply with it. There is a huge wealth of books and papers which collectively represent. Response to oil spill in fast currents can be very dangerous and responders need large. We ought to be extremely careful about the arctic, because we know that spill response and the coast guard cannot get to the arctic very well, cherry murray, a member of the presidential oil. Climate change is a security threat to the arctic and the time to act is now. More than 200 million gallons of oil fouled the ocean and gulf coastlines, while the center for biological diversity began decisive action to expose illegal activities and lax offshore drilling regulation. As the bp oil spill civil trial begins this week, the federal government will attempt to prove whether british petroleum bp andor any of its contractors such as transocean rig, the owner and operator of the deepwater horizon oil rig, and halliburton hal, which was responsible for pouring the cement plugs in the well, were grossly negligent and thus financially liable in causing. Adventures in developing tools for oil spill response in the. The arctic council and offshore oil pollution prevention.
The report states emphatically that spill prevention and response must fit arcticspecific risks. Emerging spill risks include increased maritime activity in the arctic, deepwater exploration and development, and the rapid expansion of rail transport of crude oil. While these activities may seem like new developments, arctic oil exploration and in some cases production has been taking place for many years in these regions. The university of alaska fairbanks is planning the formation of a science and technology center for oil spill prevention and preparedness in the arctic. Perhaps the best way to clean a spill is to use machines that can separate the oil and water. Oil spill science and technology 2nd edition elsevier. Oil industry and regional corporation executives discuss oil spill prevention, preparedness and response at the arctic energy summit, september 29, 2015, in fairbanks, alaska. Gaps in oil spill prevention planning, response capacity and oversight in the u. We identify research entities in governmental, nongovernmental, industrial, and private organizations, and provide an inventory of research projects. Pressure is mounting on alaskas oil spill prevention and. Western arctic oil spill response gaps ebook, 2012.
The worldclass oil spill prevention and response system in prince william sound is a direct result of postexxon valdez spill laws and. Norwegian experiences and future perspectives article in marine policy 50. Keeping alaskas oil spill protections requires public input. While these activities may seem like new developments, in fact arctic oil exploration, and in some cases production, has been going on for about half a century.
This paper examines the scope and application of the relevant treaties and argues that a regulatory gap exists in the prevention of oil spills and addressing the challenges of response. The exxon valdez oil spill occurred in prince william sound, alaska, march 24, 1989, when exxon valdez, an oil tanker owned by exxon shipping company, bound for long beach, california, struck prince william sounds bligh reef, 1. One of the biggest threats to the marine environment from offshore oil production is a largescale oil spill, akin to deepwater horizon. Coast guard during oil spill response operations in alaska and maintains a role on the. When the water is very calm, those in charge of cleaning the spill can skim oil off the top of the water. Alaska has adopted some of the most stringent oil spill prevention laws on the books, said attorney general gregg renkes. Oil spill response capabilities and technologies for ice. No viable methods exist to clean up oil from ice and drilling would occur in incredibly remote areas. Discovery of petroleum resources in arctic waters and the rapid loss of sea ice raise concerns over environmental risks of oil development in arctic waters.
Nov 14, 2014 covers the science of oil spills from risk analysis to cleanup and through the effects on the environment. Includes case studies examining and analyzing spills, such as tasman spirit oil spill on the karachi coast, and provides lessons to prevent these in the future. Recent years have seen increasing interest in offshore oil exploration in the arctic and other frontier regions. Effects of oil spills in arctic waters by karl magnus eger oil in the arctic marine ecosystem originates mainly from two sources.
Arctic oil spill response is challenging because of extreme weather and environmental conditions. Including oil and gas law, contract law, petrolium energy market, environmental management and oil pollution issues, petroleum extraction. Ocean conservancy partnered with paul suprenand, ph. However, if a leak is ongoing, such a machine may not be able to keep up with the rate of contamination. Constant oil spills devastate russia the seattle times. Oil spill science and technology, second edition, delivers a multicontributed view on the entire chain of oilspill related topics from oil properties and behaviors, to remote sensing through the management side of contingency planning and communicating oil spill risk perceptions. Causes, consequences, prevention, and countermeasures. Shell ceo admitted hes not familiar with companys arctic.
Its been seven years since bps deepwater horizon rig blew up in the gulf of mexico, killing 11 people and unleashing the worst environmental disaster in u. Where extreme depths are the primary challenge for offshore drilling in the gulf of mexico, drilling and spill cleanup in the ocs will be challenged by ice cover, subzero temperatures, and harsh weather. Provides a scientific basis for the cleanup and for the assessment of oil spills enables nonscientific officers to understand the science they use on a daily basis multidisciplinary approach covering fields as diverse as biology, microbiology, chemistry, physics, oceanography and toxicology covers the science of oil spills from risk analysis to cleanup and through the effects on the. Arctic and cold weather planning, preparedness, and response e. Nuka research has published over 40 papers on oil spill prevention and response. Energy companies around the world have eyes set on the arctic. A federalprovincial board has been established to manage the offshore petroleum resources of newfoundland. The kolva river oil spill was caused by a breach in a corroded oil pipeline in the russian arctic.
This is also confirmed by the recent assessment of oil spill response in the arctic that was developed by the pew charitable trusts. In particular, focus is given to the evaluation of oil spill countermeasures for use under arctic conditions in light of anticipated regional increases in marine traffic e. List of books and articles about oil pollution online. Oil pollution prevention spill prevention, control, and countermeasure plan requirements amendments, december 26, 2006 us environmental protection agency regulation epa 2018 edition. Hundreds of wells have been drilled in arctic waters without any sustained, uncontrolled release of oil or gas. Deepwater horizon disaster altered building blocks of. Initiated in 2012 with the support of the international association of oil and gas producers iogp, the jip brought together nine international oil and gas companies bp, chevron, conocophillips, eni, exxon mobil, north caspian operating co. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Within days of the april 20, 2010 explosion and sinking of the deepwater horizon oil rig in the gulf of mexico that killed 11 people, underwater cameras revealed the bp pipe was leaking oil and gas on the ocean floor about 42 miles off the coast of louisiana. View 15 publications on oil spill prevention and response and deepwater horizon available to read, download, and purchase at nap. This is the third in a series of posts about the arctic technology evaluation supporting arctic shield 2014.
Oil is lighter than seawater so if it is spilled, it can migrate upward, into the tiny. Investing in oil spill response and containment hart energy. The impact of offshore oil drilling in the arctic peace. Oil spill prevention technology center planned for uaf.
Dec 24, 2014 constant oil spills devastate russia originally published december 24, 2014 at 8. International convention on oil pollution preparedness, response and cooperation oprc and the agreement on cooperation on marine oil pollution, preparedness and response in the arctic mospa. This field guide was developed to provide circumpolar countries with oil spill response guidance specific to the unique climatic and. View 20 publications on oil spill prevention and response and deepwater horizon available to read, download, and purchase at nap. Whereas national laws vary extensively across the arctic states, international law does not offer a uniform approach to prevention of and response to oil spills. Oil pooled around the rupture site for eight months, contained by a dike, but the dike later gave way, spilling roughly 84 million gallons of oil into the kolva river. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Climate change is a security threat to the arctic and the. But the report, oil spill prevention and response in the us arctic ocean, by the pew environment group, warns that oil companies are not ready to deal with a. In the field of offshore oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response, the u. Read the first post, noaa again joins coast guard for oil spill exercise in the arctic and the second post, overcoming the biggest hurdle during an oil spill in the arctic. Some 186 square km about 72 square miles of tundra and wetlands were tainted. This white paper is a compilation of research on oil spills in icecovered arctic waters and recommendations for future work.
We identify research entities in governmental, nongovernmental, industrial, and private organizations, and provide an i. After the deepwater horizon disaster in 2010, our reports provided analyses of the spill and guidance for policy making, health care monitoring, and environmental protection. The report is intended to foster discussion of the realistic limits that arctic conditions impose on oil spill cleanup operations to ensure that such considerations are factored into oil and gas development strategies and contingency plans. What are the potential risks of oil drilling in the arctic and how prepared is the world to handle a catastrophic spill. Arctic oil spill response is challenging because of extreme weather and. Renewed political and commercial interest in the resources of the arctic, the reduction in the extent and thickness of sea ice, and the recent failings that led to the deepwater horizon oil spill, have prompted industry and its regulatory agencies, governments, local communities and ngos to look at all aspects of arctic oil spill countermeasures with fresh eyes. Handbook of oil spill science and technology wiley online books. Arctic oil spill cleanup plans are thoroughly inadequate. If there is enough oil, it can be burned, but that usually leads to air pollution. The oils polluting the antarctic environment are varied and so are the residual properties. Diminishing sea ice is opening arctic waters to increased industrial activities such as shipping and oil and gas development. Oil spill prevention and response and deepwater horizon the.
On the heels of renewed interest in the arctic region, leaders of russia, norway, and finland are negotiating the creation of a wealth fund devoted to oil and gas production in the arctic barents region. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the arctic and. Arctic oil drilling needs better federal regulation. In april, the us national research council highlighted the lack of technological capacity to respond to oil spills in arctic waters. Certain environmental and weather conditions would preclude an oil spill response in the arctic ocean, yet an arctic spill response gap is not incorporated into existing oil spill contingency plans or risk evaluations. Oil spill response and the challenges of arctic marine shipping. Previously, he was chief of the emergencies science division of environment canada for 30 years. The dynamics of the ice pack combined with the long life of the oil could allow an oil spill to have a major. Predicting the fate of oil spills in arctic sea ice. Crowley has the contract with alyeska to manage the spill equipment, and supplies the escort tug service for the companys tankers. Supported with technological advances evolved from the deepwater horizonbp oil tragedy and events in the arcticantarctic.
Drilling companies now have to overcome a stringent set of regulatory hurdles to drill offshore in the arctic. Arctic oil spill response arctic fact sheets iogp bookstore. Home browse science and technology environmental and earth sciences oil pollution. In a slightly different vein, 11 oil and gas companies in cook inlet formed cook inlet spill prevention and response inc. She has also done litigation research at the natural resources defense council and the us department of justice. Suprenand worked as mote marine laboratory postdoctoral research fellow, where he developed a complex model of the. The gulf oil spill is recognized as the worst oil spill in u.
Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. In the case of the deepwater horizon oil spill in the mexican gulf, less than 3% of the oil was recovered with the use of mechanical equipment. Oil spills in arctic waters overdrive rakuten overdrive. An environmentalist writes that heavy fuel oil has been identified as the top threat to arctic marine life and residents. Regulations like submitting oil spill prevention plans, and obtaining authorizations for incidental harassment of marine mammals make obtaining rights to drill in the arctic a long and expensive process. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Handbook of oil spill science and technology wiley. The slow rate of biological degradation of oil at nearzero temperatures has led biologists to suggest that oil spills in the arctic ocean might remain there for periods of 50 years or more.
Spill response in the arctic offshore 1 introduction recent years have seen increasing interest in offshore oil exploration in the arctic and other frontier regions. Opinion shipwreck in the arctic the new york times. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. A year after the gulf oil spill, experts are pondering. We are developing an arctic environmental response management application, a critical gis tool to support decision makers during oil spills and training exercises. A major oil spill that occurs in severe arctic conditions will never be cleaned up to the point that serious environmental damage will be avoided.
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