WorldOil

Drilling advances

Oil on the water. Oil spill – the very thought brings images of dead or dying birds, struggling sea mammals and miles of shoreline covered with black, sticky ooze. It’s a nightmarish scene that tugs at the very soul of every living person. It is this image that causes people in our industry to spend billions of dollars, euros, pounds and dinars to prevent such disasters. It is the same image that prompts legislators from all nations to pass laws, rules and regulations to punish the spiller, making the punitive consequences of such an event so unpleasant that nobody would consider intentionally allowing a spill of any size to occur. All of this is well-known, well-documented and well-rehearsed after nearly 40 years of active environmental legislation, since the late 1960s. The majority of oil-related operations function under the umbrella of a strong environmental plan of some type depending on location, potential threat and political activism in the vicinity.