In the USA the amount of freshwater used in gas and oil industry goes up to more than 36,000 m3 in the period from 2011 to 2014 (“Circle of Blue: Study: Fracking Water Use Varies in U.S. Oil and Gas Development”, par. 1). The water is needed in all the fields and technics applied in fossil fuels extraction. The contaminated water later on is being dumped into injection wells and cannot longer be used as a freshwater. Should the companies continue using fresh water from the natural resources or apply other ways of getting water appropriate for their use, that are more expensive is the topic to be discussed in this essay.
Clean freshwater is an extremely valuable source in the world today. The lack of it is a serious problem in many regions of the planet like African countries, Middle East countries etc. (“Water.org: Millions Lack Safe Water” par. 2) It is a sad irony that the majority of gas and oil natural reservoirs are located in the same regions. As big gas and oil companies operate there, much of the water is getting significantly contaminated during the process of extraction both by chemicals and particles of soil and mining rocks. The unlimited freshwater withdrawal can affect the local water sources causing the shortage of essential natural resources and thus leading to local ecological catastrophes. Not to mention the general situation in the world when almost all natural sources of freshwater are shortening drastically due to global warming and the population growth. That is why the preservation of freshwater sources is an extremely urgent action that should be made as soon as possible. Hopefully, now it is not too late.
Big gas and oil companies like British Petroleum, that operates in almost 80 countries and produces 3.2 million barrels of oil per day (“BP Global: BP at Glance” par. 2) claim that they state environmentally friendly policy. BP reports approximately 28 million m3 of total freshwater withdrawal in 2014 (“BP Global: Water” par. 6); and it proclaims that the freshwater is taken from the natural reservoirs and municipal drinking water suppliers with all the required permissions. The company also claims that it uses treated saline water, and the water that is preliminary cleaned within the corporation’s facilities gained from municipal wastewater plants. The BP operates $18,435,266 as shares in issue with the cost of buyback shares $ 4,795.6 (“BP Global: Share Buyback and Shares in Issue” par. 1). As the number of buyback shares reduced significantly in 2014 if to compare to the data of 2013 (“BP Global: Share Buyback and Shares in Issue” par. 2), it can be concluded that BP gains more trust. That causes the increasing of assets and means that more costs can be spent in the field of water sources management improvement. This is a serious issue concerning the oil spill accident in the Gulf of Mexico that took place in 2010, and was a serious challenge to the British Petroleum’s reputation (“Ocean Portal. Gulf Oil Spill” par. 1).
Stating environmental friendly policy is great, and no doubt, the BP does its best to reduce the amount of the natural environment contamination caused by its activity. But even all the administration and employees follow the protocols precisely, there is a chance of human error, or a tragic coincident due to a lack of data, for example, that may lead to serious accidents or losing control. The tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 is a vivid example. There can never be 100% confidence that the contaminated water from the injection well will not get to the underground water reservoir that is an essential source of fresh water for the entire region.
Fresh water is a precious source for the humankind today, and it should be preserved for essential needs of living organisms, not for needs of oil and gas companies even if they proclaim environmentally friendly policy.
Works Cited
BP Global: BP at Glance. 2014. Web.
BP Global: Share Buyback and Shares in Issue. 2015. Web.
BP Global: Water. 2015. Web.
Circle of Blue: Study: Fracking Water Use Varies in U.S. Oil and Gas Development. 2015. Web.
Ocean Portal. Gulf Oil Spill. 2010. Web.