Oil Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Matthew Surber

English: Writing

Msurber@lhup.edu

How Does Oil Drilling Work?

    Oil is the product of millions of years of decay of tiny plants and animals known as plankton. Deep within the layers of the earth, these tiny plankton are sealed in tiny chamber without oxygen. As they decay they become organic material that forms sediment. Over millions of years the pressure on this sediment from the layers above causes them to separate into two forms, Natural Gas and Crude Oil. The earth then seals those products off with something called a cap stone, a large chunk of very thick rock that is tough to penetrate.

    Due to the invariable differences in earth density due to the deposits of oil and natural gas, geologists most commonly use seismology to locate such deposits. The process involves firing shock waves into the group and measuring the response time.

    Once oil has been located a lengthy process begins, during which scientists attempt to determine the feasibility of drilling the oil for a profit. The most common factors that would hold up drilling include possible negative environmental impacts and the difficulty of getting to the oil (the more difficult, the more expensive).

    If a company decides that benefits outweigh the risks they then prepare the land for drilling. Initially the land is cleared of trees and odd-shaped rock outcroppings, making things as flat as possible. A water supply must then be accrued, be it natural or man made, nd thirdly a reserve pit is dug, either locally, or in a location where it will not affect the ecology.

    With all these steps completed, crews can now begin the setup process of a rig, initially digging many holes around the site for various equipment uses and digging a large, wider hole where the main hole will be dug to give workers access to the drill itself. When this is finally complete, a rig may be set up.

Uses of Oil

    Oil, which we most commonly associate with its use in gasoline and plastics is one of the most popular components in hundreds of products around the world. Think of anything plastic in your house, from your CD's to your cell phone and petroleum products are there. The plastic wrap on your store-bought chicken and the little things one the ends of your shoe laces

    To the surprise of most people, oil is used more commonly in our everyday lives than just the gas in our cars. Items such as paints, Nylon, Polyester, detergents, Styrofoam, asphalt, and toothpastes can all trace themselves back to some form of oil. As well, a group of man-made chemicals, known as petrochemicals are used in many varies places. Think of your fertilizers or your medicine, all of them may contain various types of petrochemicals.

Consumption of Oil

    Currently the U.S. imports over 60% of it's oil and our consumption is equivalent to that of 1/4 our reserves, if we were to rely solely on American oil reserves, we would have enough oil to last four years, provided of course that oil consumption does not increase.

    Internationally, if oil consumption remains constant, than it is predicted that we have enough oil to last the next 27years. This however, is only an estimate as there may be oil available that we are currently unaware of, as well there may be oil that is it is not beneficial to drill for one reason or another.

What is ANWR?

    ANWR, also known as the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, is a 19 million acre reserve in the northeast corner of Alaska. Currently, of that 19 million acres, roughly 17.5 million acres are closed to outside development. Currently ANWR is home to more than 36 species of fish, 36 species of mammal and more than 160 species of birds.

    As well, because it has gone undisturbed, ANWR contains five separate ecological regions including lagoons, beaches, saltmarshes, two distinct undra and a boreal forest.

What does ANWR have to offer?

    In terms of wildlife and ecosystems, ANWR is a one-of-kind treasure that has no rival anywhere in the United States, and in terms of a wildlife reserve, it is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. When you consider the variety of species (land, sea, and air), the unique ecosystems, and the beauty that it holds, it is no wonder that many people refer to it as the gem of the north.

    Conversely, ANWR also holds the potential for the largest oil reserve in the United States, perhaps as large as 16 billion barrels of oil a day. As the United States currently imports more than 64% of its oil, at a cost of over $55 billion a year, one can see that the ramifications of a large oil find in the ANWR would be extensive.

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