Benefits Of Offshore Oil Drilling

Many seafood companies prices fluctuate because a whole number of reasons. Have you ever thought why though? They even have to take some foods completely off their menus. A lot of the time this is because of an oil spill that kills so much of the environment that a lot of the sea animals die or even become endangered. The BP Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 is a great example of this. It spilled 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 87 days. The area of the spill alone had over 8,000 species, which already had 39 endangered species and added 14 new species to the endangered list. Not only did we lose animals but “Eleven people died as a result of the accident and 17 others were injured”(BP Staff).

Many think that the land will be destroyed if the drilling becomes a reality, but the truth is that it is only going to be a small piece of ANWR that will be drilled on. Roads will not be made of gravel, but water from the rivers to be frozen over in the winter. That way the roads will disappear when they melt in the spring (Debate Over Oil 2). There is not going to be any sign of roads anywhere which will help keep the land beautiful. Oil companies have also come a long way in what is done before, during, and after drilling. High-tech exploration methods, new oil drilling technology, and better waste disposal techniques are all ways in which oil companies have improved. They are all very important in the sense that the United States will profit in the end.

Offshore drilling has become an essential part of today’s oil production and demand for energy. With the growth of population comes the increasing demand for oil. The oil industry today, is one of the most used providers of energy. Today in the 20th century the majority of the population in America has a car and cars needs gas to run. The oil reserves in the earth that are easily accessible via land are starting to run dry and are becoming harder to find. This is why we have begun to see more and more offshore oil drills. Although there are benefits of offshore drilling such as profit, lower gas prices, and becoming less dependent on foreign oil. There are also many drawbacks in which if something were to go wrong, the mistake would be catastrophic impacting the environment, the nature, and have trickling effects all around the world.

     For a drug addict to quit a drug, the best solutions for the addict would be to slowly wean them self off the drug periodically. America can be viewed in a parallel way on its dependency for oil. America needs another source of oil to slowly lessen its overwhelming dependency on foreign oil and to help the process of finding another mass energy source. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge better known as the ANWR is a rich treasure of oil and gas that can help lessen Americas need for foreign resources. Drilling on the ANWR will not only help the American economy, but will also help aid America in the future.

Another reason against drilling much research has shown that all the oil that will be produced will only last for about six months. The fact that the British Petroleum has greater potential to produce more oil and natural gasses (Markey 2004) than ANWR so why bother with it , supporting the case that drilling is pointless. Then there is the percentage that after oil production of ANWR, the foreign oil dependency will only drop from 56% to 50% (Markey 2004).Then the oil produced would reach the market ten years later after it was produced, leaving the gas price decrease to one percent(Lamar and Markey 12). There was also the reality of natural gases. ANWR does not confirm any sign of them, when President Bush ordered exploration for natural gasses (Klyza and Ford-Martin 1).Again proving drilling pointless.

The new presidency is focused on obtaining more natural resources through fracking in order to become energy independent. Fracking is the process of obtaining natural resources, like oil and natural gas, by drilling into the ground using a mixture of water, chemicals, and sand. However, the presidency has not considered the ill health effects on children. Research has indicated that fracking can pollute the surrounding water and air with dangerous chemicals, which can be detrimental to the health of children. Children are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of fracking chemicals because they are anatomically, physiologically, and developmentally different from adults. Research is still nascent, but possibly risking the health of children

America has been in an oil crisis for many years, it should stop. People and companies are using more oil than they should. Oil supplies are fragile. If the United States drills for oil in several other countries it would cost a lot of money and gas prices will increase. There is an option of drilling in Alaska for oil. If the United States did drill it would be cheaper because it is domestic. If the United States collected oil from Alaska's wildlife it would have an overall positive outcome.

Not only has fracking supported jobs relative to the drilling company, it has also supported indirect jobs. These jobs, described as “induced” jobs, are other businesses such as restaurants, hotels and retail (Efstathiou). The expansion of jobs in the drilling industry has created a greater demand for other businesses such as restaurants and hotels (Efstathiou). This is because the new dispensable income generated by the workers has allowed the public to afford these conveniences and luxuries (Efstathiou). One of these reasons is because according to Harvard economist Michael Porter, “cheaper natural gas is helping businesses and people all around the country save money” (qtd. in Arnold). According to the IHS report, the “drilling industry will support about 360,000 direct jobs, 537,000 jobs in supplying industries and more than 850,000 jobs outside the industry,” all of which is essential in circulating and stimulating the economy (Efstathiou). Porter believes that the fracking industry is a “game changer," to the economy (qtd. in Arnold). The fracking industry according to Porter

Before even drilling into the Arctic, just granting approval to a company like Shell increased their stocks by three percent (Investmentu.com “The Pros and Cons of Arctic Oil Drilling”). This bounce in the company’s stock could be due to factors such as an increase in oil or gas demand, not just directly linked to being approved to drill in this area. In fact, not just production from the United States would benefit from the Arctic, but production factories all over the world would indulge in this supply just as much. As the United States is estimated to max out their production nine million six hundred thousand barrels per day (MMb/d) in 2019, this number would clearly grow higher from Arctic drilling. Since their supply would go up for a number of years, more and more consumers would go up over time resulting in the United States supply of oil to drastically decrease as there is no such thing as an unlimited source of fossil fuel (Hotair.com “Are we sitting on unlimited fossil-fuel resources?”). Together with increased production, environmental problems would be off the charts such as greenhouse gas (GHG) levels and soot. Also, job openings would then further open up for more and more workers to find jobs. This would then be a choice instead of working at part-time jobs with decent pay to go to companies that offer full-time, maybe even months at a time staying overseas working with much better

America must wean itself off of dependence on foreign oil, and one valid solution to this problem is offshore oil drilling and production. America’s economy is heavily based on petroleum, as though it is the nation’s blood; a necessity for survival. About 25% of oil produced in the U.S. comes from offshore rigs. Most of the U.S. coastline has been off limits for oil drilling since the early 1980s. Due to environmental concerns after an oil spill off the coast of California in 1969, an offshore drilling moratorium was imposed. Since then, the U.S. has amplified its energy consumption to where it uses nearly 25% of the world's oil. Meanwhile, the U.S. produces about 10% of the world's oil. That has made the U.S. heavily reliant on imported

During the last few years, the people of the United States have spent money excessively when and where spending was unnecessary. The excess spending has resulted in the current recession. The economy went into recession when the price of gasoline increased to four or five dollars a gallon in 2008. A way to offset the recession would be to expand drilling in the United States. The Energy Information Administration estimates the amount of oil in the Bakken Formation alone at 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels. Drilling for oil domestically is not only viable but also, it is beneficial to the United States because it will reduce reliance on foreign oil, provide fuel at a cheaper cost, and create jobs for American citizens.

Another benefit of offshore oil drilling consists of increasing job opportunities for people. The unstable economy in the United States results in people losing their jobs quite often. In the book Offshore Drilling, the loss of job opportunity in the United States is explained this way:

Offshore oil drilling causes many changes to our climate change. It thickens the ocean and that makes it even harder for sea life animals to live in, and also for people to swim in. Also, when there is an oil spill fishermen cannot sail through it because of the possibility of the crude oil catching fire. The U.S. needs to look for ways to decrease petroleum consumption, not for ways to increase it. Offshore oil production involves environmental risks, most notably oil spills from oil tankers or pipelines transporting oil from the platform to onshore facilities, and from leaks

Oil companies have been vying for the rights to drill for oil off the coast of the Mid-Atlantic states for decades. As one can conclude from the evidence of danger that occurs from drilling around southern states where entire ecosystems were devastated, there is too much that can and will go wrong to risk it when there are numerous alternatives that are safer to procure than oil production. More of the nation’s time, energy, and resources should be focused on harnessing natural energy such as windmills, dams, and solar energy. Currently, limited drilling is supported by the president, but any drilling endangers life on Earth.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.