Petroleum Development in Mexico: The Environmental Impact
The development of any industrial enterprise will have spatial effects on the region in which it operates (Schliephake, 1977, p.5). Such effects might include attracting a pool of labor, expanding the demand for locally produced goods and services, and spurring the development of ancillary industry (Schliephake, 1977, p.4). They might also include increasing the general wealth of the community and making possible the building of roads and factories, as well as the improvement of public utilities, health services, and education facilities (Schliephake, 1977, p.4). This scenario, however, generally does not apply to the petroleum industry.
All mining is speculative in nature (Schliephake, 1977, p.5). It is subject to the hazards and unpredictability of geology (Schliephake, 1977, p.5). In the petroleum industry, the scattered location of deposits and the recurring interstate exchange create a world oil market (Schliephake, 1977, p.5). As a result, management of oil enterprises tends to be uniform; the industry has similar national and regional impacts regardless of the state in which it develops (Schliephake, 1977, p.5).
One of oil mining's impacts is that it tends to be less labor and more capital intensive (Schliephake, 1977, p.8). Often in developing countries it is the sole source of incoming foreign currency (Schliephake, 1977, p.5). In addition, the revenues generated are usually at the disposal of the entire state not the oil producing area and tend to be subject to the preferential will of the state's ruler (Schliephake, 1977, p.10). Thus, due to such circumstance, the oil industry generally does not integrate with other sectors of the economy, make a contribution to regional economic development, or lead to the significant advancement of the producing country (Schliephake, 1977, p.8). Although these effects may be modified by such factors as a co...