Living Blue Planet Report

Chapter 2: Our ocean under pressure page 35

Extractives

To meet our ever-increasing demands for fossil fuels and mineral

resources, extractive industries are moving into new areas –

including remote ocean regions and deep-sea areas with fragile

ecosystems and unique biodiversity.

Around a third of oil and gas extracted worldwide comes

from offshore sources, and this proportion is predicted to increase.

With many reserves exhausted in shallower waters, companies are

pushing to greater depths to access new sources. But this is a risky

business, as evidenced by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010,

which killed 11 people and leaked 130 million tonnes of crude oil

into the Gulf of Mexico (GPO 2011).

According to the Institute for Sustainable Development and

International Relations (IDDRI), the offshore oil and gas sector

is the least regulated marine-related industry internationally

and regionally when it comes to the environment, safety and

compensation (Rochette, 2014). There are no binding global

standards on environment and safety, liability provision and oil spill

response and preparedness regarding oil and gas operations (except

for the transport of oil and gas), and many companies operate to

different environmental and social standards depending on the

country in which they are working. In some developing countries,

even the most basic environmental requirements are not met. This

is a particular concern, as offshore exploration and development is

growing fast in Africa and other developing regions.

Contribution to

climate change

CO 2 and methane
emissions
(including from gas flaring)

Loss of sensitive

habitats

(mangroves and corals)

Seafood

contamination

Disturbance to marine mammals

and fish stocks

(especially during seismic surveys)

Pollution

Transportation and infrastructure risks