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Wells have been drilled for over 120 years and over this period, a lot of progress has been made to ensure that drilling for hydrocarbons does not cause blowouts and oil spills. It is the worse possible outcome for any oil company.
Along side the progress in drilling, the places where we find oil has become more difficult to access. Thus, the measures taken to prevent spills must always be improved.
Many oil fields have sufficient pressure to naturally flow to the surface. Why doesn't oil spill out everytime we discover oil? As we drill through an oil bearing section, the drilling mud must be heavy enough to keep the pressure at the bottom of the hole high enough so formation fluids (gas and oil) can not flow into the well. The well is also designed to seal off the oil deposit when we run tubing (metal pipe) and push cement behind the pipe. In the case of the BP spill, many suspect that a good seal was not made.
What causes oil spills can be a simple error, but in the case of the BP spill, it seems the result of a series of things going wrong, and human error in not recognizing them.
The investigation may take a long time to complete, particularly if they intend to retrieve the blow out preventer after the well is capped. The preventer is supposed to be the final solution to close in the well if all else failed, and it failed to do this.
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Does drilling for oil create oil spills?
It can definitely contribute to oil spills.
What can you do to stop polar bears becoming extinct because of oil drilling?
Polar bears are not threatened by oil drilling. If they were, drilling measures to contain spills could be enhanced.
What are they doing to stop oil spills in antarctica?
Oil spills are not a phenomenon on Antarctica. There are fuel spill accidents, which are cleaned up immediately and logged. There are no commercial ventures on earth south of 60 degrees S, per the Antarctic Treaty, so there is no oil drilling that could cause an 'oil spill'.
Do oil spills cause global warming?
no
How can oil spills be damaging?
Oil spills in the ocean can cause animals to be harmed because they become coated with oil and so does their food.
How many shallow water drilling oil spills have occurred?
The number is not known or at least not published. The total number is spills from oil oil platforms is known and accounts for a very small percentage of all oil dumped or leaked into our waters. The number of spills is known: The Gulf of Mexico (267 spills) The northeastern U.S. (140 spills) The Mediterranean Sea (127 spills) The Persian Gulf (108 spills) The North Sea (75 spills) Japan (60 spills) Baltic Sea (52 spills) United Kingdom and English Channel (49 spills) Malaysia and Singapore (39 spills) The west coast of France and north and west coasts of Spain (33 spills) Korea (32 spills) The vast bulk are shallow spills and very few leak much oil. There are certainly exceptions but shallow oil drilling gives us far easier solutions to the situations then deep water does. The vast bulk of oil spilled into our waters is from permanent fixtures and sites. Pipelines are one example.
Why do boats cause oil spills?
Cracks in the hull
The cause of oil spills?
Many things, including wars, ship wrecks, and wells exploding are some of the few causes of oil spills.
Do Tsunamis cause oil spills?
They can if they go anywere near an oil tanker or an oil rig
Do oil spills cause taxes to go up?
yes.
What is the cause of water pollution in the middle east?
Oil spills
How is oil collected?
It is collected by drilling into the earth but that can cause earthquakes.
