Technically difficult exploration
and environmental costs:
•
Supply:
new
sources
As oil prices remain high, and fears of ‘peak oil and gas’ increase the
search is on for new sources:
Example
Source
Technical challenge
Environmental
impacts
Canadian
(Athabasca)
tar sands
Bitumen combined
with sand / rock
under boreal forests;
close to surface
MODERATE
Strip mining or extraction by
steam; gas is used to heat
the sands and extract oil.
HIGH
Energy intensive extraction
and destruction of
ecosystems
Arctic oil
Conventional oil in
fragile wilderness
region, both on and
offshore
LOW
Conventional drilling and
extraction; Arctic oil has been
taken from Prudhoe Bay for
decades.
MODERATE
Fragile environment but
production has relatively
small footprint
West of
Shetland,
Foinaven field
Conventional oil in
deep ocean water
HIGH
Production began in 1997,
but using ‘floating’ rigs
LOW
Low risk of spills and limited
impact on sea bed
MODERATE
Opencast mining, then can
be directly burnt or heated to
drive off oil.
HIGH
Large areas mined, scarring
landscape and energy
intensive production
Bitumen encased in
USA (Green
River) oil shale solid rock
Viable alternatives?
• The chart below shows the estimates oil price required for each
energy resource to be competitive with oil and gas without any form of
State support or subsidy
Economic viability of energy sources
Offshore wind
Onshore wind
European biodiesel
USA Corn ethanol
Sugar cane ethanol
Tar sands
Coal to liquids
Oil Shale
Deep water oil
Conventional Oil other
Conventional Oil Middle East
0
20
40
60
80
100
Oil price US$
Source: the FT 2009
120
140
160
• Read p 28-31 Oxford and very
interesting p 34-35)
• (and p 19-21 Pearson sheet)
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Protected … but
… there are oil reserves there …
And the Prudhoe Bay oilfield is nearly exhausted.
Varying Views
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKcxVdj
u8Q The truth about ANWR
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbgzWC
M0A4&feature=related Don’t believe the liesagainst ANWR drilling
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xYGED1j
65Y&feature=related as above longer version
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOZRrbE8
Qao&feature=related ANWR blood and oil
http://www.anwr.org/Video/Viewour-ANWR-Flash-Movie.php
Opinions
Sarah Palin- John McCain's
running mate for 2008 us
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
“I hope people understand, in
a 20,000-square-mile area,
this is 2,000 acres. It is a plot
of land the size of LAX that we
would want to drill to explore.
,"
•“ANWR Drilling could keep
[America]'s economy growing by
creating jobs and ensuring that
businesses can expand [a]nd it will
make America less dependent on
foreign sources of energy, scientists
have developed innovative techniques
to reach ANWR's oil with virtually no
impact on the land or local wildlife."
"I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly
damage a protected national wildlife refuge
without creating sufficient oil supplies to
meaningfully affect the global market price or
have a discernible impact on US energy
security."
“We support the drilling- it will provide
jobs for locals and Americans all over
the country- it will enable Alaska to
further develop energy security and it
doesn’t affect us or the caribou
migrations we rely on”
“Me not want any of
your dirty oil spilling
on me food or landmy calves might eat
it or step on it”
Other arguments in favour
• A June 29, 2008 Pew Research Poll reported that 50% of
Americans favor drilling of oil and gas in ANWR while 43%
oppose (compared to 42% in favor and 50% opposed in
February of the same year).
• A CNN opinion poll conducted in August 31, 2008 reported 59%
favor drilling for oil in ANWR, while 39% oppose it.
• A large majority of Alaskans support drilling in ANWR, including
every governor, senator, representative, and legislature for the
past 25 years.
• In the state of Alaska, residents receive annual dividends from
oil-lease revenues. In 2000 the dividend came to $1,964 per
resident.
• Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the Resources
Committee, seized on the finding Tuesday that development of
the refuge would boost domestic oil production by 20 percent
over what it otherwise would be in 2025.
• “Given America’s energy crunch, ANWR production is a must,”
Pombo, who requested the analysis, said in a statement.
Other arguments against
• The economic impact would be negligible, thus meaning no
financial reason to drill there as the amount is not thought to
be enough for mass production levels
• Environmentalists state that the required network of oil
platforms, pipelines, roads and support facilities, not to
mention the threat of foul spills, would play havoc on wildlife.
• The US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE has stated that the
1002 area has a "greater degree of ecological diversity than
any other similar sized area of Alaska’s north slope." The
FWS also states, "Those who campaigned to establish the
Arctic Refuge recognized its wild qualities and the
significance of these spatial relationships. Here lies an
unusually diverse assemblage of large animals and smaller,
less-appreciated life forms, tied to their physical environments
and to each other by natural, undisturbed ecological and
evolutionary processes."[
• The Gwich'in tribe adamantly believes that drilling in ANWR
would have serious negative effects on the calving grounds of
the Porcupine Caribou herd that they partially rely on for food.
The debate is
about the
environment
(conservation)
Compared with
the economy
(exploitation)
‘But … You can’t eat the scenery’
About local ,
national and
even global
interests
The Arctic Tundra is a treeless plain by the Beaufort Sea
Here you can see patterned ground made by the seasonal
melting of the upper ground.
Is this place
really so
special?
Outdoor
enthusiasts
think it is …
and are
against drilling
for oil
“Depending on whom you listen to, ANWR’s coastal
plain is either a bleak, buggy land of misery
deserving no special protection or a precious piece
of America’s natural history.”—James Balog
In
summer
the
hollows fill
with
midge
infested
swamps.
Like Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay (pictured above), ANWR
may soon bear the scars of modern oil extraction.
Do the nature
lovers
overstate the
threats to the
environment?
The oil companies love photos like this - some
environmentalists had feared that the pipeline would disrupt
normal wildlife migrations. It turns out, however, that not only
does the pipeline not bother the local wildlife, but some of
the critters like to scratch their backs on the supports.
There are
risks to
endangered
species if
drilling is
allowed…
Shouldn’t we
cut back on
fossil fuels
anyway …
to slow Global
Warming?
Polar bears, the largest bear and terrestrial
predator, find prime habitat in Alaska’s
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
What local people are
affected?
The Inupiat of Kaktovik,
Alaska
The village of Kaktovik in 1995
Tool for survival:
Kaktovik whaling
captain Charlie
Brower displays
the harpoon he
uses when his
village goes after
its quota of three
bowhead whales
in the fall
(Autumn).
They tend to
support the
development – they
want the money
from the oil
companies
Kaktovik is next to the Beaufort
Sea and within the northern
boundaries of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge.
The Gwich’in
Tribe live
inland
Adeline Raboff, is a member of the
Gwich’in tribe
They are Caribou
hunters
Some of their
land is Taiiga
– forested
with pine
conifers
Arctic Village home of the Gwich’in Native Americans
The Gwich’in
object to the
proposed oil
development
because the fear
the caribou will be
disturbed
The Gwich’in have the inherent right to continue our own
way of life; and this right is recognized and affirmed by
civilized nations in the international covenants on human
rights.
Back in mainland
USA
Some ‘right wingers’
back their
government
And the oil industry
And the troops in Iraq
And hate the other
protesters who try to
stop ‘progress’.
Environmentalists
also campaign in
Washington DC
The gist of the sales pitch was "we
haven't spilled much oil up here, we
haven't spilled much along the
pipeline, the Exxon Valdez was
someone else's fault ...
oh, and we're starting to run out of oil
up here, so could we please please
PRETTY please be allowed to start
exploration in the wildlife refuge next
The Oil Industry has been
‘persuading people’ for
years to try to get
permission to drill in
ANWR
More research
http://www.anwr.org/