OIL AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• Gailan Fareeq Rafeeq • Petroleum Engineering / TIU

• Oil is called petroleum or crude oil and may exist as a combination of liquid,

• Petroleum sources are usually small pockets of liquid or gas trapped within
rock layers deep underground (often under the seafloor). Extracted crude
oil is refined and used to manufacture gasoline (used in transportation)
and petrochemicals (used in the production of plastics, pharmaceuticals,
and cleaning products).Crude oil is a mixture of many different kinds of
organic compounds, many of which are highly toxic and cancer causing
(carcinogenic). Oil is "acutely lethal" to fish, that is it kills fish quickly, at a
concentration of 4000 parts per million . (ppm) (0.4%)
 GLOBAL WARMING

• When burnt, petroleum releases carbon dioxide; a greenhouse gas. Along with
the burning of coal, petroleum combustion is the largest contributor to the
increase in atmospheric CO2.
• Although oil doesn’t produce the same amount of CO2 that coal burning does,
it still contributes greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and increases global
warming.
 EXTRACTION

• Oil extraction is simply the removal of oil from the reservoir (oil pool).
Oil is often recovered as a water-in-oil emulsion. Demulsifiers (or
emulsion breakers) are a class of specialty chemicals which are used to
separate the oil from water.
• Oil extraction is costly and sometimes environmentally damaging.
Offshore exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine
environment.
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF DRILLING
• Oil companies pump liquid oil out of the ground by using drilling rigs and wells that
access the pockets of oil resources. The oil fills the rock layers the way water fills a sponge
— spreading throughout open spaces — instead of existing as a giant pool of liquid.
• Oil and gas drilling has serious consequences for our wildlands and communities. Drilling
projects operate around the clock, disrupting wildlife, water sources, human health,
recreation and other aspects of public lands that were set aside and held in trust for the
people.
• Oil and gas extraction is a menace to wildlife. Loud noises, human movement and vehicle
traffic from drilling operations can disrupt avian species’ communication, breeding and
nesting. The infrastructure built for energy development can also get in the way.
Powerlines, well pads, fences, and roads fragment habitats for many species.
 OIL SPILLS
• Crude oil and refined fuel spills from tanker ship accidents have damaged natural ecosystems in Alaska, the Gulf
of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands and other places such as France.
• Many The quantity of oil spilled during accidents has ranged from a few hundred tons to several hundred
thousand tons.
• Oil spills at sea are generally much more damaging than those on land, since they can spread for hundreds of
nautical miles in a thin oil slick which can cover beaches with a thin coating of oil. This can kill sea birds,
mammals, shellfish and other organisms it coats.
• Oil spills on land are more readily containable if a makeshift earth dam can be rapidly bulldozed around the spill
site before most of the oil escapes, and land animals can avoid the oil more easily
• Though crude oil is predominantly composed of various hydrocarbons, certain nitrogen heterocyclic compounds,
such as pyridine, picoline, and quinoline are reported as contaminants associated with crude oil, as well as
facilities processing oil shale or coal. These compounds have a very high water solubility, and thus tend to
dissolve and move with water. Certain naturally occurring bacteria, such as Micrococcus, Arthrobacter, and
Rhodococcus and have been shown to degrade these contaminants.
OIL SPILLS
 IMPACT OF OIL SPILLS
• Spilt oil can pollute streams, rivers and, if it soaks through the soil and rock, groundwater.
• In the UK, drinking water supplies come from rivers and groundwater. We must protect them both from pollution.
• Oil is toxic and harmful to plants and animals and a threat to their habitats.
• Over the past five years oil has consistently been among the UKs top three pollutants.
• Many drains lead directly to rivers, streams or lakes, and if you allow oil to enter a drain it can have the same effect as you pouring it directly
into a watercourse. Just 1 liter of oil can contaminate 1 million liters of water.
• Oil pollution can have a devastating effect on the water environment, it spreads over the surface in a thin layer that stops oxygen getting to
the plants and animals that live in the water.
• Oil pollution:
• harms animals and insects
• prevents photosynthesis in plants
• disrupts the food chain
• takes a long time to recover
• Wildfowl are particularly vulnerable, both through damage to the waterproofing of their plumage and through eating the oil as they preen.
Mammals such as water voles may also be affected too.
 HUMAN IMPACT
• Exposure to oil and oil products either directly or indirectly causes severe health issues in humans, and the effects are
principally dependent on the nature of contact with the oil spill.
• Direct exposures include breathing contaminated air (volatile fractions which are emitted as gases) and direct contact with
the skin (while walking in contaminated areas).
• Indirect exposures to oil are due to bathing in contaminated water and eating contaminated food.
• Human health is badly affected by the contamination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), and the effects depend
largely on the type of site (land, river, and ocean) of oil spilled.
• Other contributing factors that affect the human health upon oil exposure include the kind and extent of exposure.
Cleaning workers at the oil spill site are at greater risk. Health disorders include skin and eye irritation, breathing and
neurologic problems, and stress. TPHs have a strong impact on mental health and induce physical/physiological effects,
and they are potentially toxic to genetic, immune, and endocrine systems. Even though the long-term effects of TPHs in
humans are not fully understood yet, certain symptoms may persist for some years of postexposure period. Thus, health
protection in TPHs-exposed individuals is a matter of serious concern.
• Health risk assessments have the greatest impact in enabling the detection of any potential exposure-related harmful
effects either at the time of exposure or for prolonged periods following the exposure.
 REDUCING THE NEGATIVE
IMPACTS OF OIL
• Laws Help Reduce Pollution from Oil, Over the years, new technologies and laws have helped to reduce
problems related to petroleum products. As with any industry, the Government monitors how oil is produced,
refined, stored, and sent to market to reduce the impact on the environment. Since 1990, fuels like gasoline
and diesel fuel have also been improved so that they produce less pollution when we use them.
• Reformulated Fuels, Because a lot of air pollution comes from cars and trucks, many environmental laws
have been aimed at changing the make-up of gasoline and diesel fuel so that they produce fewer emissions.
These "reformulated fuels" are much cleaner-burning than gasoline and diesel fuel were in 1990.

• Technology Helps Reduce Drilling's "Footprint“, Exploring and drilling for oil may disturb land and ocean
habitats. New technologies have greatly reduced the number and size of areas disturbed by drilling,
sometimes called "footprints."2 Satellites, global positioning systems, remote sensing devices, and 3-D and 4-
D seismic technologies make it possible to discover oil reserves while drilling fewer wells.
 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF OIL
• Although finding, producing, moving, and using oil can harm the environment but products
from oil (petroleum products) help us do many things.
• Oil is one of the most crucial commodities in the world that you cannot live without. This is
because it is used in almost all industries that require energy input such as motor vehicle
industry, power generation, and other numerous sectors. We use them to fuel our airplanes,
cars, and trucks, to heat our homes, and to make products like medicines and plastics.
THANK YOU