Sunday, May 2, 2010
Concerns in one Gulf do spill over
The next few days could be critical for the US states along the Gulf of Mexico. The spreading oil spill there threatens to have devastating effects for a fragile ecosystem and local economy. Bad weather is frustrating efforts to keep the slick contained. What’s worse, capping the undersea oil well that is gushing thousands of barrels of crude per day could take months.
The world is watching the Gulf of Mexico’s predicament with concern, but it is a grim and important reminder for those of us on the Arabian Gulf. The oil and gas industry remains the lifeblood of the national and regional economies, and lessons about how to prevent and contain oil spills are vital to national security.
It is too early to assign blame in the Gulf of Mexico spill. What can be said, however, is that BP’s 2009 environmental assessment that a major oil spill was “virtually impossible” in the area was clearly over-optimistic. Major oil companies, not to mention government authorities, need to plan for the eventuality of an oil spill, not diminish its risk.
“Always, you have to measure things by looking at the worst-case scenario,” said Khamis Bu Amim, the chief executive of the Regional Clean Sea Organisation (Resco), a Dubai-based association of regional oil companies. Resco has helped to develop the UAE’s plan to protect against marine pollution, which is currently under review by the Ministry of Environment and Water.
That plan will not only cover disaster response but include measures to minimise marine pollution from shipping, industry and coastal development. The Arabian Gulf is under tremendous pressure already. “It’s different than anywhere else in the world,” Mr Bu-Amim said. “For drinking water security, the only thing in the Gulf is the sea.”
This region has weathered major oil spills in the past. The 1991 Gulf War disaster, when Kuwaiti oil wells were sabotaged by Saddam Hussein’s invading forces, is still the worst oil spill on record.
Gulf nations can certainly empathise with the situation facing coastal areas in the American South. But it should not take another disaster of this scale before a comprehensive plan to contain the damage of an oil spill is put into place.
The world is watching the Gulf of Mexico’s predicament with concern, but it is a grim and important reminder for those of us on the Arabian Gulf. The oil and gas industry remains the lifeblood of the national and regional economies, and lessons about how to prevent and contain oil spills are vital to national security.
It is too early to assign blame in the Gulf of Mexico spill. What can be said, however, is that BP’s 2009 environmental assessment that a major oil spill was “virtually impossible” in the area was clearly over-optimistic. Major oil companies, not to mention government authorities, need to plan for the eventuality of an oil spill, not diminish its risk.
“Always, you have to measure things by looking at the worst-case scenario,” said Khamis Bu Amim, the chief executive of the Regional Clean Sea Organisation (Resco), a Dubai-based association of regional oil companies. Resco has helped to develop the UAE’s plan to protect against marine pollution, which is currently under review by the Ministry of Environment and Water.
That plan will not only cover disaster response but include measures to minimise marine pollution from shipping, industry and coastal development. The Arabian Gulf is under tremendous pressure already. “It’s different than anywhere else in the world,” Mr Bu-Amim said. “For drinking water security, the only thing in the Gulf is the sea.”
This region has weathered major oil spills in the past. The 1991 Gulf War disaster, when Kuwaiti oil wells were sabotaged by Saddam Hussein’s invading forces, is still the worst oil spill on record.
Gulf nations can certainly empathise with the situation facing coastal areas in the American South. But it should not take another disaster of this scale before a comprehensive plan to contain the damage of an oil spill is put into place.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment