...The History of Offshore Oil and Gas in the United States In looking at the history of offshore drilling for oil and gas, it has been a long and grueling process that has revolutionized the industry in its own. Beginning in the 1890s, oil companies have drilled wells in the ocean, but from wooden piers connected to shore. It wasn’t until the 1930’s, that Texaco and Shell Oil deployed moveable barges that were not considered ocean worthy to drill in the South Louisiana marshes. After years of trial and error, in 1938 the first offshore well was constructed by a construction company known as Brown & Foot for two independent oil firms known as Pure Oil and Superior Oil. The well was built in a field known as Creole Field and was considered the 1st offshore drilling site ever constructed. With this drilling site in operation, business opportunities for independent contractors and large oil companies developed with large research development programs in charge of finding new geological environments. With the vast amount of land being unused under the water, oil filled land would revolutionize the future of oil production, and flourish in record breaking profits. It is predicted that the largest hydrocarbon reserves and production during the next several decades will likely come from offshore drilling in deep water beyond 3,000-foot depths. With the offshore drilling and production industry just beginning it was unclear of just how successful it would be. In fact, many...
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...Offshore Drilling Does anything out weigh the importance of our planet’s health? You would be surprised by the number of people who look the other way when it comes to keeping the planet clean. Offshore drilling is just one of the major environmental issues that has existed for many years and still continues to be a problem. The topic of offshore drilling not only touches on environmental issues but also political, economic, and ethical issues. All of these tie into the huge debate over offshore drilling and its impacts on the environment. But when the human race depends on oil, how can we ignore the fact of drilling for oil off the coast of our land. Investing in greenhouse energy is just one of several ways to help keep the environment clean and continue to get the energy we need. America needs to realize that offshore drilling is a leading factor in pollution and we can’t keep collecting oil like this forever, we need to discontinue this process of drilling off shore and expand our possible options of renewable energy. So you might be asking yourself “how does offshore drilling affect our environment?” It all starts with finding the oil. The oil companies use a system like sonar that sends out waves, these “Seismic waves used to locate oil can harm sea mammals and disorient whales. ExxonMobil recently had to suspend exploration efforts near Madagascar after more than 100 whales beached themselves” (HowStuffWorks). Just the thought of going to your local beach to find...
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...Stop Offshore Drilling The environmental impacts of offshore oil drilling greatly outweigh the economic benefits provided. Although it has been a continuous activity for more than a decade, One can not help but wonder why offshore drilling continues when considering the pollution caused, how it eliminates the supply of natural resources, murders innocent sea creatures, and actually damages the national economy. There are, however, solutions to this problem. Before solutions can be presented, it is important to discuss the various problems. First, offshore oil drilling results in both sea and land based pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, claims that "with offshore drilling comes substantial routine pollution in the forms of oil and gas." By routine, the EPA means "a near constant flow from oil rigs and derricks" (Sisskin). Nothing is ever done about the pollution, and until something is done about the oil being put into the sea, our oceans are at risk. So just how much oil is put in the oceans? According to a study conducted by the World Research Institute, "...between 3 and 6 million tons of oil are discharged into the oceans every year" (Gorman 48). To put this in perspective, that is approximately 4 football stadiums filled to the top with oil. That is just every year...and this has been going on for more than a decade. In total, 45 million tons of oil in the past ten years that have been put into the oceans. There are several ways that oil ends up in...
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...Si Peng Professor Sellmer English 123 6 Aug. 2010 Offshore Drilling: A Bad Idea Crude oil is one of the three kinds of fossil fuel (coal, crude oil, and natural gas) that are widely used by humanity. It plays a very important role in our world, as it is one of our primary energy sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States is the biggest oil consumption country in the world, which consumes 19.5 million barrels of oil per day (EIA, “Country Energy Profiles: Oil Consumption”). Crude oil can not only be found on the continent, but also in the ocean. The activity that people discover and extract oil from the ocean is called offshore drilling. Offshore drilling has a long history in the United States. The first offshore well was drilled in 1896, in California (“History of Offshore Oil” 163). Oil soon became the primary energy source of the United States by 1910, as the internal combustion engine, which requires gasoline to power, was invented (“History of Offshore Oil” 163). In the next few decades, offshore drilling industry in the U.S. was going up quickly (“History of Offshore Oil” 163-64). Along with the development of the industry, the government regulation came up. To pursue offshore drilling in the U.S. OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) lands, oil companies need to acquire the lease from the U.S. federal government (“History of Offshore Oil” 164). The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) passed in 1953 ensured federal government’s...
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...It is not a recent discovery that mankind has realized that extracting petroleum from the seas has been extremely efficient and economically successful. In the late 1800s, citizens in California realized that wells drilled near the ocean were the best sources of crude oil and natural gas. In 1887, H.L. Williams decided to drill wells offshore and his first well went about three hundred feet into the Pacific. As expected, the extraction was abundant and extremely productive. During this time, the combustion engine was also being created which increased America’s demands for gasoline. The first well drilled from a fixed platform offshore was not created until 1947 by the Kerr-McGee Corporation and also marked the beginning of the modern offshore drilling industry. As a result, oil production was known as the second largest revenue generator for the United States. Creating offshore oil platforms entails more than three billion dollars. For some companies this could be a great investment, as for others it could signify a great loss. On March 23, 1989, Exxon Valdez had its first most tragic oil spill in U.S. history. Irresponsibility and carelessness led to the spilling of approximately 10.8 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound affecting fisheries, the livelihood of citizens in Alaska, wildlife, and those who found Prince William Sound a sacred and pure place was now degraded. On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum (BP) reported a leakage of five thousand barrels of crude...
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...Offshore Oil Drilling Offshore oil drilling has been an ongoing battle for years. Being from Louisiana, I understand that offshore drilling is a big part of our lives and keeps most of our men employed, including my husband. Oil spills are not a very frequent occurrence but when it does happen it is devastating to our planet, animals, and businesses. When things like this happen it can have a very bad impact on other businesses in the area. It can start with the fisherman and then streamline to the restaurants and other businesses that depend on these fishermen. It can also impact other businesses that need to use the waterways. Some businesses have equipment that need to be moved in and out of the waterways and that is not possible if there is an oil spill. If I were to be directly impacted by an oil spill I would definitely be upset. It is a tough thing to debate because even though it is devastating when it happens, if offshore drilling were to be stopped completely there would be thousands of people out of jobs. President Nixon called for tougher regulations banning all use of DDT. He also founded the Environmental Protection Agency to help enforce the new laws. I am guessing that the oil spill in 1967 would have drawn attention away from the Cold War because Americans would have been more focused on the “new” happenings. References Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, and Stoff. (2005). Nation of Nations: A Concise Narrative of the American Republic, 4th...
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...Aggressive Driving Should be Avoided (1)Aggressive driving is a phenomenon, which has only recently got the public worried. (2)The National Highway Traffic Safety Council (NHTSC) defines aggressive driving as “the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property”. (3)Actions such as running red lights, improper passing, overtaking on the left, improper lane change, failing to yield, improper turns, running stop signs, tailgaiting, careless driving and speeding are examples of aggressive driving.. (4)Such actions are dangerous to other road users. (5)Aggressive driving should be avoided because it causes crashes, injuries and fatalities. (6)The first reason why aggressive driving should be avoided is it causes crashes. (7)According to NHTSC between 78 percent (excessive speed) and 100 percent (improper passing) of the cases of aggressive driving resulted in traffic crashes and 96 percent of the drivers cited for “following too closely” or tailgaitng caused crashes as a result of their aggressive driving. (8)Moreover, “running red light”, “improper passing”, and “overtaking on the left” topped other categories of aggressive driving in contributing to traffic crashes. (9)Another reason why aggressive driving should be avoided is it causes injuries.(10) NHTSC states that the percentages of the injuries caused by aggressive driving are, in almost all categories of aggressive driving, above 100 percent...
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...I believe that the United States should invest money into alternate fueling sources. Off shore drilling at this point is environmentally unsafe. Our environment is changing due to global warming, and off shore drilling makes this worse. I feel very strongly about greedy oil companies destroying the planet in pursuit of more oil at the cost of our endangered species and the health of the American people. Oil companies already hold 5,500 offshore leases that are not being used. I do not know why they need to occupy more space, when they can use what the government has allowed them to use. Now, I do agree changing to solar and wind powered fuel sources will require research and additional funding, however those fuel sources are more eco friendly and in the long run may leave the world in a better position. I must admit, sometimes I fall in to a mindset that is commonly known as stereotyping. As explained in this book “The Art of Thinking”, by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero, chapter 3, a stereotype is a fixed, unbending generalization, irrationally maintained. I have fallen in to this on many issues; I do not believe that my stance on off shore drilling is an issue of stereotyping. I have reassured my stance by reading and researching this stance. As stated in a USA Today article (Jervis, Welch, & Wolf, 7/14), “When oil is brought up from beneath the ocean floor, other things are, too. Chemicals and toxic substances such as mercury and lead can be discharged back into the ocean”. The oil...
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...Effects of offshore drilling Offshore drilling also known as Seaward boring is a topic that has brought controversy for a few decades, the drilling in United States coast has been detrimental in helping the economy and political stand in the country; however this process is extremely dangerous to the environment, individuals and animals, Case in point, the oil slick in the Gulf a couple of years prior significantly harmed nature and marine life Boring ashore is an immense extend in itself in addition to endeavoring to penetrate a mile under unpleasant oceans in a dark pit. Seaward boring is a serious and perilous process that takes exactness and time. Oil wells are regularly high rise size articles many feet beneath the surface. They are greatly mind boggling structures and the scarcest misstep might be annihilating to nature's turf. When boring can start, exploratory wells are situated up to discover the accurate oil gushers. When a spot is found with a sufficient measure of oil, a subsea boring format is placed set up to guide out where the parts of the well ought to be spotted. In the following step, a drill string, which join from the beginning the stage, is utilized to make gaps in the sea depths. At the point when the opening is profound enough, metal channel packaging is situated up around the dividers of the gap to stabilize it. Finally, a conductor funnel is placed set up to keep spillage from the openings. When petroleum is hit, preparation packaging is established...
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...Offshore drilling was banned during the 1980s in the United States due to the damage caused to the environment. However, the bans were later lifted in 2008 due to economical and political reasons (Hill). While the ban no longer affects Dicore’s operations, it shows the efforts of U.S. government towards avoiding any environmental risks associated with drilling and the protection of local crude oil and minerals. Drilling companies’ profitability is highly dependent on mineral prices. Since the financial crisis in 2008, Dicore was able to recover steadily with share price reaching an all-time high of $5.12 per share in early 2012 (Bremner, 5). However in 2013, fluctuations of gold and other base metals prices had affected the whole mining industry (Goddart). This has caused Dicore’s stock price to fall to...
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...In this research paper, I will be talking about offshore oil drilling and how this will affect Florida. I will give you a little history about this subject and what lead up to the conflict between the people and the politicians. First, we will start out with a little history, we know that offshore oil drilling was only allowed in certain coastal areas. On March 30, 2010, the New Times reported that Obama decided to open offshore drilling to Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Alaska coastline for oil and natural gas. The area that was proposed was a compromise between the oil corporations and national drilling activists. The only problem with this is many residents that this effected would be upset along with environmental groups. Plus, it will...
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...but by that time, more than 4 million barrels of oil had been released into the gulf. The BP oilrig, owned by Transocean, Deepwater Horizon had been in operation in the Gulf of Mexico since February 2001. The rig was valued at more than $560 million dollars and worked on many different wells in the gulf. The last well it operated on was the Macondo well. It was this well that the oil spill came from and was brought about by several preventable errors on the part of BP and Transocean management and employees. The Deepwater Horizon vessel was an exploratory rig assigned the duty of finding oil, reporting it, and capping the well for another extracting type rig to come in and harvest the oil. While drilling the well, the rig encountered pockets of natural gas buildups where it was drilling. A week prior to the fatal explosion, Horizon encountered one of these pockets and the natural gas began to rise up the drill bore and began surfacing on the rig platform. When this happened, an immediate freeze was put on all activities to prevent an explosion. These same events would eventually play a part in the explosions aboard Horizon. A second major factor was the cementing process. When the well was being prepared for closure so another rig could use it in the future, the team...
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...Appendix II: Break-even analysis for Drilling and Profiling processes ............................................................ 3 Appendix III: Standard operation times (setup and run time scaled per board) ............................................ 4 Appendix IV: Total operation time results for the order sizes 1, 8, 200 and 800 ............................................ 5 Appendix V: Capacity in the DFPR area ............................................................................................................ 6 ! II! Executive Summary The Donner Company manufactures Soldermask over bare copper circuit boards. Meeting specifications of small and large electronic firms by a self-invented process making them one of the industry leaders. The routine process1 can be divided in three main stages - preparation, image transfer and fabrication (Appendix I). In both, image transfer and fabrication, it is possible to choose between two alternate technologies (manual vs. automatic) leading to the same output in a sub-process while differing in a fixed setup time and run time per board. Therefore, a break-even quantity was calculated for both in order to configure a decision rule on which option to schedule customer orders to achieve the smallest total production time (Appendix III). As a result, for manufacturing orders of more or equal than six boards the CNC Drill should be the preferred technology in the drilling process. However, for orders greater...
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...supplying a natural gas that burns cleaner than others because of the molecular structure it possess. This supply of natural gas allows the United States to be less contingent on foreign companies for energy supplies and provides royalties for the state of Wyoming. Questar drills and operates in close proximity to wildlife habitats that rely on the mesa, sagebrush and high elevation for survival. The Bureau of Land Management has specific limitations based on the habitat surrounding the drilling sites that Questar must follow to protect the wildlife. Studies were conducted that indicated that the restrictions were not sufficient enough to address the decline in the sage grouse; although Questar have followed the guidelines set forth by the Bureau of Land Management. The sage grouse are being considered for the endangered species list as it is believed to have a population of only 250,000 remaining. The argument that Questar presents is that the federal land was needed for the United States for drilling and mining. To reduce the impact of operations that would affect wildlife, Questar executives prepared a plan to invest in new technology. They petitioned for permits that would allow them to drill for the entire year at a single pad instead of closing down for the winter...
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...Step 6: Once the drilling gets about 500 feet above the shale formation, a downhole drilling motor with sophisticated measuring instruments begins the angle drilling creating a new horizontal path into the shale formation. Step 6: Once the drilling gets about 500 feet above the shale formation, a downhole drilling motor with sophisticated measuring instruments begins the angle drilling creating a new horizontal path into the shale formation. Step 4: The cement and casing are then pressure tested to ensure hydrocarbons and other fluids don’t seep out. Step 4: The cement and casing are then pressure tested to ensure hydrocarbons and other fluids don’t seep out. Step 3: Cement is then poured into this tubing throughout, displacing any remaining fluids and securing the casing in place. Step 3: Cement is then poured into this tubing throughout, displacing any remaining fluids and securing the casing in place. Step 2: The drill pipe and bit are removed and a steel “surface casing” tube is inserted into the well which stabilizes the well sides, creating a barrier. Step 2: The drill pipe and bit are removed and a steel “surface casing” tube is inserted into the well which stabilizes the well sides, creating a barrier. Step 1: Vertical well begins to be drilled with a drill pipe and drill bit past the ground water level a few thousand feet down. Step 1: Vertical well begins to be drilled with a drill pipe and drill bit past the ground water level a few thousand feet down. ...
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