The Oil Spills Management

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Dissertation Proposal: Oil Spills Management in the Arabian Gulf

[Author’s Name]

[Institution’s Name]

Abstract

This paper analyses the subject related with oil spills management in the Arabian Gulf. Considering the sensitivity of the given issue, this paper discusses the very subject in a way which not highlights the subject’s gravity, but also brings up a detailed discussion in light of recently-conducted studies and comprehensive researchers together with constructive criticism and recommendations. While previous researches have described the burning issue of oil spill in the Arabian Gulf with more details and information, the underlying approach, here, is to look out available ways and alternatives which could minimize the impact of future oil spills in the same region. Overall, this paper is distinctive, because findings of this research could be, universally, applied to other regions and countries badly affected by frequently occurring oil spills. This research, also, attempts to determine those of the critical areas in the Gulf region which are, normally, overlooked by the researchers.

Keywords: Oil Spills, Arabian Gulf, Environmental Hazards & Pollution, Management

Oil Spills Management in the Arabian Gulf

Introduction

Whenever occurred, effective and timely management of marine oil spills is a daunting task that requires exceptional experience, strategies, and management tools, as well as experienced staff who may, somehow, minimize the impact of oil spills.

The best way to tackle an oil spill is not to release any sort of oil in the oceans at all. This is because once it takes place, it becomes quite difficult to manage or control the spilled oil, and it may take several weeks and months to clean up the oil-tainted waters. 'Approximately 66% (~ 76 million metric tons) of the global oil reserves are located in the Arabian Gulf, and Gas reserves of the Gulf that amount to 190.1 trillion cubic meters, equivalent to 35% of the global reserves'. (Mohammad A.et. al. 2013)

In fact, marine scientists, or other researchers have not developed any shortcut or crash program for immediate cleanup or recovery, and an effective management of oil spills is an all-inclusive set of actions where we have to consider a number of factors before initiating the rescue work. 'The extensive oil drilling and transportation activities in the Arabian Gulf increased the possibility of oil spills and the consequent threat of oil pollution to the regional ecology'. (El-Sabh, Murty 1988)

Be it Arabia Gulf, or any other region, whenever an oil spill incident is reported, there are a few of the steps taken immediately that include: ‘Verification of the incident; collect complete data about the incident; notifying and transmission of all data to all member states; notifying local, regional and international private sectors working in the field of combating marine pollution to be on standby in case of necessity; continuous exchange of incident data and follow-up; updated information about the incident status is continuously provided to all member states; legal and technical advice is continuously provided to the member states; oil spill trajectory model is used for early prediction; in case of any assistance in needed, MEMAC liaises with the Member States as well as with other regional and international firms. A record about the incident is kept for studying and as a lesson to be learnt for future avoidance of any similar incident'. (How MEMAC deals with incidents)

The critical factors, usually, include temperature of the affected water, the range of spilled oil in the coastal waters, and type of the crude oil, along with the types of beaches and seashores involved.

In particular, it’s essential to know the temperature of affected water, because this helps in determining the possibilities or likelihoods for biodegradation and evaporation of the affected coastal waters.

'In August and October 1980, two large oil spills occurred in the Arabian Gulf. The first, from an unidentified source, involved about 20,000 barrels of crude oil and impacted the entire north and west coasts of the island nation of Bahrain. The second occurred when the Ron Tapmeyer platform in the Hasbah offshore oil field blew out, releasing an estimated 50,000 barrels of thick crude into the Gulf. The spill subsequently covered large sections of the coastline of Qatar'. (Lehr & Belen 1983)

Marine oil spills are considered to be more damaging and destructive, as compared with those occurring on land.

This is because oil-tainted water can spread in the large area of the adjacent shorelines and coastal lines in form of an oil slick, or thickly-layered oil floating over the large portion of the sea for hundreds and thousands of nautical miles, and may even swamp the entire seaside, coastlines, and it’s beautiful beaches with highly-toxic oil coating.

Format of the Study

This paper has been divided into 5 chapters. The 1st chapter includes introduction of the given subject, with major highlights and introductory details about the issue. This chapter, also, includes the Research Plan, Objective, assumptions, significance and scope of the study, along with theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the study. This chapter, also, raises the research question.

The 2nd chapter of this dissertation consists of a detailed literature review, mentioning the major studies and researches conducted on the given subject. 3rd chapter presents methodology of the research, including the design of the research being conducted.

This will be followed by the 4th chapter which will discuss the findings of the research in details. The last chapter will conclude the study with appropriate suggestions and recommendations for further researches to be conducted in the same area. The 5th chapter will, also, briefly discuss the implication for future studies.

Research Plan

Accompanied by the introduction and detailed literature review of the given topic, this study conducts its own research in the 3rd and 3th chapters. According to this, 3rd chapter will show the methodology of the research plan, while the 4th chapter will discuss the research results and findings of the 3rd chapter. 5th chapter will conclude the paper with proper recommendations and suggestions for future studies.

Objective of the Study

The objective of this study is to find out the best, or available ways of effective management of marine oil spills which may occur in the Arabian Gulf region.

Assumption of the Study

An underlying assumption of the study is that marine oil spills is a universal phenomenon occurring across the world, and not just limited to the Arabian Gulf only. Despite its geographical limitations, the findings of the research will be equally applicable to other geographical areas as well.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant considering the universal application of this detailed study, which could be equally helpful not only to the Arabian Gulf, but also to the other regions and countries of the world, as mentioned above.

Scope of the Study

Scope of this study is largely confined to those oil spills which are occurring, or may occur in the Arabia gulf.

Theoretical Framework

This study discusses not a single, but several theories about the subject being investigated, along with the phenomenon under investigation and the results.

Conceptual Framework

This study entails an exclusive conceptual framework, where a major emphasis is being given on all of the available information, knowledge and researches that, mainly, propose the realistic measures and management plans to control marine oil spills in the Arabia Gulf, in particular.

The Research Question

This study focuses on a single, but widely-applicable question, as ‘what are the measures required for the effective management and control of marine oil spills in the Arabian Gulf?’

Literature Review

In general, an oil spill, defined in various ways. Particular into the marine areas, an oil spill is one of the kinds of pollution created by the release of oil, or liquid petroleum hydrocarbons into the ocean in a considerably large quantity.

'We can clearly state the Gulf region has a unique coastal environment, in part influenced by a shallow sea with unusually warm waters. There is scarce information available to date about the human impact on these ecosystems and much less is known about the impacts of global processes like climate change'. (Lavieren, et al, 2010)

There are a number of factor that cause oil spills in the Arabian Gulf. Technically, marine oil spills are generated by the human activities solely, as no other factors have been, yet, found that lead, or may lead to oil spills, especially in the coastal waters. 'Despite the steady reduction in the frequency and volume of oil spills over the past decade, an oiling incident may occur, without warning, anywhere in the world. The problem caused can be acute, e.g. from a damaged oil tanker, or chronic, resulting from an ongoing release and accumulation of oil'. (A Guide to Oiled Wildlife Response Planning)

Marine oil spills are, usually, caused by the crude oil released from drilling rigs, oil tankers, wells, and offshore platforms and the mass release of the oil may even affect coastlines, including its adjacent land areas well.

Other than crude oil, marine oil spills are, also, occurred by the release of the fuels used aboard ships. Examples of these types of heavier fuels include bunker fuel, marine diesel oil, marine gas oil, navy special fuel oil, and navy special and heavy fuel oil etc.

'The evaporation, wind-driven currents, and sand-fall are important as weathering processes, while tidal currents cause lateral spreading of the slick, Oil spill modeling has shown some usefulness in estimating the trajectories of few major spills illustrated by reference to three models developed for the Gulf'. (El-Sabh, Murty 1988)

Additionally, spills of petroleum products, or refined petroleum products may, also cause the most devastating oil spill in the coastal waters, including its surrounding land areas. Examples of refined petroleum products include diesel, bunker oil, and gasoline etc.

A number of by-products the petroleum products cause marine oil spills too. Furthermore, oil spills in Arabian Gulf may, also, take place due to the spill, or release of waste oil into the ocean.

To date, a number of marine oil spills have occurred in many countries and regions of the world. Starting from the devastating oil spill occurred in Southern Kuwait in 1991, to the large-scale marine oil spill in Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the ratio of such incidents is increasing alarmingly. The following table shows major oil spills incidents occurred since 1967.

Table [1] 

Year

Place/Country/Region

Total Damage

1967

Cornwall, England

Torrey Canyon ran aground, spilling 38 million gallons of crude oil off the Scilly Islands.

1976

Buzzards Bay, Mass

Argo Merchant ran aground and broke apart southeast of Nantucket Island, spilling its entire cargo of 7.7 million gallons of fuel oil.

1977

North Sea

Blowout of well in Ekofisk oil field leaked 81 million gallons.

1978

off Portsall, France

Wrecked supertanker Amoco Cadiz spilled 68 million gallons, causing widespread environmental damage over 100 mi of Brittany coast.

1979

Gulf of Mexico

Exploratory oil well Ixtoc 1 blew out, spilling an estimated 140 million gallons of crude oil into the open sea. Although it is one of the largest known oil spills, it had a low environmental impact

1979

Tobago

The Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain collided, spilling 46 million gallons of crude. While being towed, the Atlantic Empress spilled an additional 41 million gallons off Barbados on Aug. 2.

1980

Stavanger, Norway

Floating hotel in North Sea collapsed, killing 123 oil workers.

1983

Persian Gulf, Iran

Nowruz Field platform spilled 80 million gallons of oil.

1983

Cape Town, South Africa

the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver caught fire, spilling 78 million gallons of oil off the coast.

1988

North Sea off Scotland

166 workers killed in explosion and fire on Occidental Petroleum's Piper Alpha rig in North Sea; 64 survivors. It is the world's worst offshore oil disaster.

1988

Saint John's, Newfoundland

Odyssey spilled 43 million gallons of oil.

1989

Prince William Sound, Alaska

Tanker Exxon Valdez hit an undersea reef and spilled 10 million–plus gallons of oil into the water, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

1989

off Las Palmas, the Canary Islands

Explosion in Iranian supertanker, the Kharg-5, caused 19 million gallons of crude oil to spill into Atlantic Ocean about 400 mi north of Las Palmas, forming a 100-square-mile oil slick.

1990

off Galveston, Texas

Mega Borg released 5.1 million gallons of oil some 60 nautical miles south-southeast of Galveston as a result of an explosion and subsequent fire in the pump room.

1991

southern Kuwait

During the Persian Gulf War, Iraq deliberately released 240–460 million gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf from tankers 10 mi off Kuwait. Spill had little military significance. On Jan. 27, U.S. warplanes bombed pipe systems to stop the flow of oil.

1991

Genoa, Italy

Haven spilled 42 million gallons of oil in Genoa port.

1991

Angola

ABT Summer exploded and leaked 15–78 million gallons of oil off the coast of Angola. It's not clear how much sank or burned.

1992

Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

88 million gallons of oil spilled from an oil well.

1993

Tampa Bay, Fla

Three ships collided, the barge Bouchard B155, the freighter Balsa 37, and the barge Ocean 255. The Bouchard spilled an estimated 336,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil into Tampa Bay.

1994

Russia

Dam built to contain oil burst and spilled oil into Kolva River tributary. U.S. Energy Department estimated spill at 2 million barrels. Russian state-owned oil company claimed spill was only 102,000 barrels.

1996

off Welsh coast

Supertanker Sea Empress ran aground at port of Milford Haven, Wales, spewed out 70,000 tons of crude oil, and created a 25-mile slick.

1999

French Atlantic coast

Maltese-registered tanker Erika broke apart and sank off Britanny, spilling 3 million gallons of heavy oil into the sea.

2000

off Rio de Janeiro

Ruptured pipeline owned by government oil company, Petrobras, spewed 343,200 gallons of heavy oil into Guanabara Bay.

2000

Mississippi River south of New Orleans

Oil tanker Westchester lost power and ran aground near Port Sulphur, La., dumping 567,000 gallons of crude oil into lower Mississippi. Spill was largest in U.S. waters since Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989.

2002

Spain

Prestige suffered a damaged hull and was towed to sea and sank. Much of the 20 million gallons of oil remains underwater.

2003

Pakistan

The Tasman Spirit, a tanker, ran aground near the Karachi port, and eventually cracked into two pieces. One of its four oil tanks burst open, leaking 28,000 tons of crude oil into the sea.

2004

Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

A major storm pushed the M/V SelendangAyu up onto a rocky shore, breaking it in two. 337,000 gallons of oil were released, most of which was driven onto the shoreline of Makushin and Skan Bays.

2005

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Coast Guard estimated that more than 7 million gallons of oil were spilled during Hurricane Katrina from various sources, including pipelines, storage tanks and industrial plants.

2006

Calcasieu River, Louisiana

An estimated 71,000 barrels of waste oil were released from a tank at the CITGO Refinery on the Calcasieu River during a violent rain storm.

2006

Beirut, Lebanon

The Israeli navy bombs the Jieh coast power station, and between three million and ten million gallons of oil leaks into the sea, affecting nearly 100 miles of coastline. A coastal blockade, a result of the war, greatly hampers outside clean-up efforts.

2006

Guimaras island, The Philippines

A tanker carrying 530,000 gallons of oil sinks off the coast of the Philippines, putting the country's fishing and tourism industries at great risk. The ship sinks in deep water, making it virtually unrecoverable, and it continues to emit oil into the ocean as other nations are called in to assist in the massive clean-up effort.

2007

South Korea

Oil spill causes environmental disaster, destroying beaches, coating birds and oysters with oil, and driving away tourists with its stench. The Hebei Spirit collides with a steel wire connecting a tug boat and barge five miles off South Korea's west coast, spilling 2.8 million gallons of crude oil. Seven thousand people are trying to clean up 12 miles of oil-coated coast.

2008

New Orleans, Louisiana

A 61-foot barge, carrying 419,000 gallons of heavy fuel, collides with a 600-foot tanker ship in the Mississippi River near New Orleans. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel leak from the barge, causing a halt to all river traffic while cleanup efforts commence to limit the environmental fallout on local wildlife.

2009

Queensland, Australia

During Cyclone Hamish, unsecured cargo aboard the container ship MV Pacific Adventurer came loose on deck and caused the release of 52,000 gallons of heavy fuel and 620 tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer, into the Coral Sea. About 60 km of the Sunshine Coast was covered in oil, prompting the closure of half the area's beaches.

2010

Port Arthur, Texas

The oil tanker Eagle Otome and a barge collide in the Sabine-Neches Waterway, causing the release of about 462,000 gallons of crude oil. Environmental damage was minimal as about 46,000 gallons were recovered and 175,000 gallons were dispersed or evaporated, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

2010

Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon, a semi-submersible drilling rig, sank on April 22, after an April 20th explosion on the vessel. Eleven people died in the blast. When the rig sank, the riser—the 5,000-foot-long pipe that connects the wellhead to the rig—became detached and began leaking oil. In addition, U.S. Coast Guard investigators discovered a leak in the wellhead itself. As much as 60,000 barrels of oil per day were leaking into the water, threatening wildlife along the Louisiana Coast. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared it a "spill of national significance." BP (British Petroleum), which leased the Deepwater Horizon, is responsible for the cleanup, but the U.S. Navy supplied the company with resources to help contain the slick. Oil reached the Louisiana shore on April 30, affected about 125 miles of coast. By early June, oil had also reached Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. It is the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Methodology and Design

This is a highly-qualitative research. This study entails its own research conducted via analyzing secondary sources through a content analysis of these. Complete details of the secondary resources used in the research are given in the bibliography section.

Results & Discussions

This part will be based on the findings out of the 3rd chapter.

Implications for Future Study

Devoid of statistical analysis, the qualitative analysis of this study will be of great help for those researchers and scholars who are looking to pursue their researches on the same theme of oil spill management in the coastal waters.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Given under the 5th chapter, this part presents the concluding remarks of the author, together with appropriate suggestions and recommendations for future studies.