The nature is constantly changing. However, as nature alternate, so does demand to become increasingly conscious of the problems that have a concern with it. The environmental troubles like global warming, acid rain, air pollution, urban sprawl, waste disposal, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, climate change and many more affect mankind and wildlife on this planet. Over the last few decades, the exploitation of our planet and degradation of our environment have gone up at an alarming rate. As our actions have been not in favor of protecting this planet, we have seen natural disasters striking us more often in the form of flash floods, tsunamis and cyclones.
Petroleum operation is one of the object cause a lot of kind of environmental issue. Oil plays a vast and vital role in society as it is organized today. Oil represents much more than just one of the main energy sources used by mankind. Besides being an important energy source, petroleum products serve as feedstock for several consumer goods, thus playing a growing and relevant role in people’s lives. On the other hand, the oil industry holds a major potential of hazards for the environment, and may affect it at different levels: air, water, soil, and consequently all living beings on our planet.
Within this context, the most widespread and dangerous consequence of oil and gas industry activities is pollution. Other environmental impacts include intensification of the greenhouse effect, acid rain, poorer water quality, groundwater contamination, among others. The oil and gas industry may also contribute to biodiversity loss as well as to the destruction of ecosystems that, in some cases, may be unique. [22]There are some classified issues of petroleum operation. Potential environmental impacts arising out of E & P are;
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- Human, socio-economic and cultural impacts, (changes in land use pattern, changes in local population level, changes in socio-economic system, changes in socio-cultural system, aesthetics and transportation system),
- Atmospheric impacts (from flaring, venting, and purging gases, combustion processes such as diesel engines, fugitive gases from various sources, airborne particulates from soil disturbance) (principal gaseous pollutants include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, volatile organic carbons and nitrogen oxides, and sulphur dioxides and hydrogen sulfide (depending upon the sulphur content of the hydrocarbon and diesel fuel). Flaring of produced gas is the most significant source of air emissions, particularly where there is no infrastructure or market available for the gas),
- Aquatic impacts (from produced water, drilling fluids, cuttings and well treatment chemicals, process, wash and drainage water, sewerage, sanitary and domestic wastes and, spills and leakages),
- terrestrial impacts (from physical disturbance as a result of construction, from contamination resulting from spillage and leakage or solid waste disposal and, access roads),
- Ecosystem impacts (through change in water, air and soil/sediment quality and through disturbance by noise, extraneous light and changes in vegetation cover. These may directly affect the ecology), and
- Potential emergencies (spills, blow out, explosion, fires, natural disasters, war and sabotage) [23].
Most potential environmental impacts related to oil and gas industry activities are already well documented. It is still necessary to find ways to conciliate industry development with environmental protection, that is, with sustainable development. After recovered and transported, crude oil has to go through refining processes in order to be converted into products that hold commercial value. Oil refineries are major polluters, consuming large amounts of energy and water, producing large quantities of wastewaters, releasing hazardous gases into the atmosphere and generating solid waste that are difficult both to treat and to dispose of.
On the other hand, despite its potential threats to the environment, the oil industry plays a positive role in society as well, creating many jobs and generating a significant volume of tax revenues and royalties to national governments. Therefore, oil companies may profit even more and in different ways by adopting proactive environmental strategies. However, many companies in the oil business are still not adopting pollution prevention practices.
Their environmental policies are oriented towards the compliance of rules established by competent authorities, which reflects an End of Line Control corporate culture as well as a reactive approach to environmental management. Taking the environmental variable into account in productive processes has been a serious and important challenge for the oil industry. Today, the commitment to promote sustainable development goes beyond ethical and moral obligations, and has become a demand from society. This commitment alone is a limiting factor to the survival of companies, since numerous consumers may be influenced by the negative image associated with companies that harm the environment.
Significant waste streams specific to onshore oil and gas development activities include: drilling fluids and drilled cuttings, produced sand, completion and well work-over fluids, and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). Because drilling waste may contain chemical additives or hydrocarbons, it has the potential to impact vegetation, flora and fauna, and water bodies if released in an uncontrolled manner into the environment.
It can also increase loading of contaminants in the receiving environment when the method of disposal is discharge to the environment. The disposal methodology for drill mud and cuttings is an important element of how they are handled in the context of individual operations. Whereas produced sand originating from the reservoir and separated from the formation fluids during hydrocarbon processing can be contaminated with hydrocarbons; depending on the field reservoir characteristics, NORM may precipitate as scale or sludges in process piping and production vessels.
Oil and gas development activities can also generate noise during all phases of development including during seismic surveys, construction activities, drilling and production, transportation. Project footprints resulting from exploration and construction activities may include seismic tracks, well pads, temporary facilities, such as workforce base camps, material storage yards, workshops, access roads, airstrips and helipads, equipment staging areas, and construction materials extraction sites (including borrow pits and quarries).
Impacts may include loss of, or damage to, terrestrial habitat, creation of barriers to wildlife movement, soil erosion, and disturbance to water bodies including possible sedimentation, the establishment of nonnative invasive plant species and visual disturbance. Top soil is an important component of the environment which remains at higher risk but is given less priority for prevention from contamination during E & P.
Most of these environmental issue are coincided in environmental issues that caused by petroleum operation. Therefore environmental issues of petroleum operation occupied large amount of size.
