Devastation In The Gulf: Learning From the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill (Pt. 1)
By Nathaniel Payne (Simon Fraser University & Justmeans.com)
Over the last century, the pursuit of natural resources has brought the human race wealth, pleasure, agony, and pain. Resources provide societies with valuable raw materials, are the backbone of great empires, and agitator of great wars. Unfortunately, when one examines the history of resource exploration and the chronic tensions inherent in the pursuit of natural resources, a sad reality emerges.
While access to natural resources can provide governments as well as private owners with tremendous wealth, resource allocation decisions and the incorporation of potential costs relating to natural resource disasters are often understated.
This tragic understatement becomes crudely apparent when faced with global disasters like the 1991 Gulf War oil spill which caused considerable damage to wildlife in the Persian Gulf and spilt an estimated 462 million gallons (or 1.75 billion liters) of oil into the Persian Gulf, or the 1989 tragic Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, which, from March 24, 1989, spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million liters, or 250,000 barrels) of crude oil into the waters off the Pacific Coast of North America.
After witnessing such tragic global disasters, it is prudent that we, as a collective society, re-evaluate our policies and fundamental positions relating to resource expansion, how explicitly costs are factored into resource based decisions, as well as the collaborative strategies nations use to plan for and mitigate the disasters that are becoming an all too common occurrence as a result of our resource pursuits. This evaluation is absolutely critical for countries including Malaysia, whose economy and ecology are intricately tied to the sea.
Fighting Flames In The Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a devastating example of what can happen when a dangerous cascade of events overwhelms even the most advanced emergency preparedness protocols. The cascade began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion aboard the Deep Water Horizon, an offshore oil rig approximately 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, killed 11 and injured dozens. On April 22, the damaged oil rig sank, creating a 1 by 5 mile oil slick in the water that foreshadowed one of the greatest environmental and economic disasters of this century.
On April 24, the US Coast Guard estimated that 42,000 gallons of oil were leaking from the wreck, a number that changes to 210,000 gallons per day. Following this, on April 28, BP confirmed that 3 underwater leaks were identified, and began trying to contain the leaks. By April 29, the spill has extended to be 120 miles long, threatening the coastal areas of Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. On May 4, edges of the massive slick reach the shore, grazing the barrier islands off of Louisiana’s Chandeleur and Breton sounds.
Two weeks later, on May 18, 46,000 square miles of the gulf’s federal waters, or 19% of the gulf, were closed to fishing. As of May 31st, the government estimated that between 18.6 million – 29.5 million gallons had leaked into the Gulf, exceeding the approximately 11 million were leaked during the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.
Looking Toward The Future : Malaysia
As a maritime country, Malaysia must take note of both the risk factors, as well as the potential consequences of an oil related disasters within Asian waters. Smaller scale disasters within the South East Asian basin are not uncommon, and on May 26, 2010, a merchant ship collided with a Malaysian oil tanker, puncturing the tanker’s hull and spilling 2,500 tons of crude oil into the Singapore Strait.
While governmental agencies responded quickly, initial efforts to contain the spill failed, resulting in the slick reaching Tanjung Ayam in Pengerang. Shortly thereafter, the oil continued to expand along Changi beach on the north—east shores. Dark oil patches were also spotted near a nature reserve on the northern island of Pulau Ubin. While the slick was small size and the response timely, questions were raised by the resident’s of Malaysia and all maritime nations regarding the emergency response capabilities.
In Malaysia for example, while the spill in the Singapore Strait was perceived as substantial by Southeast Asian citizens, reality sunk in that the oil spill was only a small fraction of the 28,000 tons of oil that spilled when two tankers collided off southern Singapore in 1997. Experts believe that Malaysian emergency response teams are capable of dealing with spills up to 30,000 tons, but there is little evidence that capabilities exists to deal with larger, more dangerous spills on the magnitude witnessed in the Gulf of Mexico.
For Part 2, click here!
Nathaniel is business, finance, investment, and marketing researcher, education manager and author with a passion for writing, teaching, learning & research. Learn more about him here.
