Oil Industry Steven Gomez Management for Organizations Professor Shah 07/08/2011 The oil companies of today’s societies are bigger than from the past and have been making the news worldwide. These companies have been growing and trying to lease more property across the country in order to keep making money. “While the oil and gas industry argue that for expanded access to federal land, they sit on over 29 million acres of unused federal oil and gas leases. ” (Elizabeth Lopez, Hill Briefing- Oil and Gas Effects 2011).
January 10, 1901 the big oil boom started for Texas. (Mary G. Ramos,Texas Almanac 2000) That’s where it all started, and has grown to a monster of a business since then. Many people from back in those times where all for drilling for oil and everyone wanted to make money from it and weren’t really either aware, or really cared about how it would affect the enviroment. As we move on in our society our population is leaning more towards a “greener” way of doing things. I. E engery efficient appliences in our homes and electric cars.
The days of being able to drill for oil and gas without out being hassled or smeared in the media stopped on April 20th when BP broke an oil line while drilling in the gulf coast. It’s said to be the biggest oil spill passing the Exxon Valdez. (MSNBC, 2010) With that being said, the next three years is going to be a challenge for these companies who want to try and keep expanding their leases and also continue with their off shore drilling. It seems like these companies are not regulated very well and that is a huge problem.
With that oil spill still fresh in peoples minds and everytime there is the slightest oil spill or some type of accident involving an Oil Company the media is quick to spread it all over the news. Gas prices have sky rocketed and has had a big impact on the way people are driving and using energy in their homes. Dealerships are not selling the big suv’s and trucks because gas has gone up to almost $4 a gallon. During the summer months is when people like to travel but nobody wants to pay those type of gas prices just to try and get away.
Just a few years ago gas prices were fairly priced and affordable. Now, they rise and fall day to day; it seems like everything from the war in Libya to the president not wanting to release oil leases in the gulf coast affects the oil prices. Now, with this new younger more eco friendly type of society the oil companies are going to struggle to keep theier business where they want it. Gone are the days of the good ol boy system and everyone trying to make money at all cost and willing to drill anywhere they think there is oil or gas.
We are now more aware of the effects that drilling does to our society and the burning of oil and gas. We are trying to build more eco friendly appliances and giving a tax break for buying them. We are also experiencing with more types of electric vehicles such as a Hybrid Tahoe from Chevy. So, sales of certain type of vehicles are down and when people are buying them, then that means their value is decreasing as well because they’re not something that people are actively seeking. We won’t know for years down the road what effects from the oil spill in the Gulf Coast has caused.
We know that the fishing business and tourist areas on the gulf where the spill occurred have been hurt tremendously. Lawsuits have been filed in courts and restitution has been given to many of the people and companies that were affected. Our society seems a bit hesitent everytime we here about oil and gas companies wanting to drill in certain areas. Especially with off shore drilling; that can be very dangerous and as history has shown, it is very hard to control a spill and the clean up afterwards is going to take a lot of work and a lot of time.
It’s not something so simple as to just dig up some dirt from the spill or turn off a valve in order for the spill to stop. It took several months for BP to figure out how they were going to shut off this oil spill. In the meantime it was flowing oil right into the ocean hurting the fish and sea life in the area. The local fisherman and other workers in the area were affected deeply, not to mention the crew of the rig that exploded. With these companies being given free will of drilling for oil and gas causes a big enviromental issue and is a disaster waiting to happen again.
Yes, we need to drill for oil and gas to survive as a country. At the same time, we need to make sure we’re taking all the precautions and doing it safely. It needs to be regulated better and watched very close as to make sure no one is taking shortcuts. These companies have a lease that states they only have the land for a certain amount of time. When that time is getting close to ending and a company hasn’t finished drilling they start to hurry and that is when they make mistakes.
The enviroment is not going to be able to handle all the drilling and oil spills everytime it happens. People for the next few years will be skeptical of these companies for their mistakes in the past and hopefully the enviroment where the spill occurred will bounce back soon. Works Cited Elizabeth Lopez, S. C. (2011). Hill Briefing- Oil and Gas Effects. MSNBC, T. A. (2010, april 30). Oil from massive Gulf spill. Oil from massive Gulf spill , p. 2. Mary G. Ramos, e. e. (2000). he Texas Almanac 2000–2001.
