arctic oil drilling

• how do oil rig's affect carbon release


  • infrastructure and machinery release carbon dioxide
  • permafrost thaws and releases carbon
  • thawing leads to the release of water and carbon from stores
  • settlements built will release carbon dioxide
  • further carbon is released when unusable gas is burnt off
• onshore drilling pros 


  • cost effective
  • easy transportation of equipment
  • greater production results
  • 70% of the world's oil and gas comes from onshore sites
  • 96% of gas drilling in the arctic is onshore and accounts for 10% of global oil and 25% natural gas
• pros of offshore drilling


  • major opportunity for the arctic economy, creating more than 200,000 jobs
  • exploration and exploitation of untapped offshore oil resources could help to drive down the cost of oil for consumers
• cons of offshore oil drilling


  • high economic cost
  • greater risk to the environment (oil spills, pollution)
• what are the primary impacts of oil and gas drilling


  • oil installations
  • oil spills
  • pipeline construction
  • oil rig flaring
• what are the secondary impacts of oil and gas drilling


  • population increase
  • highway construction/dust