Oil Drilling Waste and the Persian Gulf

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 man

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, including Ghawar (the worldÆs largest onshore oil field, with estimated remaining reserves of 70 billion barrels) and Safaniya (the worldÆs largest offshore field, with estimated reserves of 19 billion barrels). GhawarÆs main producing structures are, from north to south: Ain Dar, Shedgum, Uthmaniyah, Farzan, Ghawar, Al Udayliyah, Hawiyah, and Haradh. Overall, Ghawar alone accounts for about half of Saudi ArabiaÆs total oil production capacity. Saudi Arabia has fewer than 1,430 wells, which are extremely low relative to the volume of oil the country produces (Feld 12). The majority of the UAEÆs crude oil is considered light, with gravities in the 32o to 44o API range. Abu DhabiÆs Murban 39o and DubaiÆs Fateh 32o blends are the UAE's primary export crudes. Most of the UAEÆs oil fields have been producing since the 1960s or early-1970s. Proven oil reserves in Abu Dhabi have doubled in the last decade, mainly due to significant increases in rates of recovery. Abu Dhabi has continued to identify new reserves, especially offshore, and to discover new oil-rich structures in existing fields (Feld 14). Ecological Damage to the Physical Environment from Petroleum Extraction Operations Oil spills in the Persian Gulf kill corals,
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Approximate Word count = 3054
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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