Marine Environment's Risk Analysis of Offshore Oil and Gas Activities (Lessons Learnt from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Sinking in the Gulf of Mexico)

Throughout the world, estimated proved reserves of petroleum have been reported to be about 1.29 trillion barrels of oil and about 6,110 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. More than 90 percentof these reserves were based on land or near shore. [1] The estimated deepwater oil reserves by considering the recent discoveries in deepwater areaswill reach 200 billion barrels. Therefore, as the other oil reserves are declining rapidly, the deepwater oil reserves can be expected to play an important role in the future of the world oil and gas energy. So, intensive activities for exploration and exploitation of the oceans, especially the growingdemand for hydrocarbons, led to the development of the offshore oil and gas industry during the last decades. [2]

Keywords:

Offshore Platforms , Oil Rigs , Risk Analysis , Safety , Marine Environment