IMPACT OF OIL DRILLING WASTE ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE PERSIAN GULF REGION OF THE MIDDLE EAST: A LITERATURE REVIEW
This paper reviews literature relevant to the impacts on the physical environment of petroleum extraction activities in the Persian Gulf Region. The Persian Gulf Region includes the states bordering the Persian Gulf and the waters of the Persian Gulf. Petroleum extraction activities conducted in the region do not occur in isolation from other activities. It is not enough to simply remove the oil from deposits under land and under sea, because, once brought to the surface, the substances must be transported to processing and refining locations. Those locations may be located in the Persian Gulf Region or their locations may be far from the region. Wherever the crude oil is transported, however, risks to the physical environment in the Persian Gulf region exist until the substances are removed from the region. Thus, environmental risks are associated with drilling, extraction, and transport operations associated with the recovery of crude petroleum in the Persian Gulf Region (Baharami 382).
This literature review is structured in three sections. The first section identifies the areas of petroleum extraction activities in the Persian Gulf Region. The second section covers types of ecological damage associated with petroleum extraction activities in the Persian Gulf Region. The third section considers some approaches to environmental risk management practiced by organizations engaged in petroleum extraction activities in the Persian Gulf Region.
Areas of Petroleum Extraction Activities in the Persian Gulf Region of the Middle East
The vast majority of Iran's crude oil reserves are located in giant onshore fields in the Khuzestan region near the Iraqi border and Persian Gulf terminus. More than half of Iran's 40 producing fields contain over one billion barrels of oil. The onshore Ahwaz, Marun, Gachsaran,...