Economic Highlights

New Delhi, 3 July 2010

Oil Slick Cases  

INDIA SAILING IN DANGER ZONE 

By Shivaji Sarkar

The world is too occupied with the British Petroleum’s failure to check one of the world’s biggest oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico after a blast at its offshore oil rig in April. But few bother to know about the dangers oil slicks are regularly causing to India’s marine life and ecology.

The slicks are not caused by oil rigs alone. Most major slicks in the high seas in India, Europe or the Mediterranean are caused by leakages from tankers and other vessels. In April, MV Malavika, a cargo ship off the Essar Shipping leaked oil near Gopalpur in Orissa affecting the Live Ridley turtle nesting beaches.

Since 1988 there have been 60 oil slicks of different dimensions in India, according to the Coast Guard records. The figures of the quantity of oil spilled are available for 33 cases. Till 2006, in 16 cases, which were properly assessed, 76409 tonnes of oil, naptha, crude, furnace oil and other petroleum products spilled into the coastal seas across the country from Bombay High, Mumbai Port, Goa, Haldia, Gopalpur and even Andaman.  In 17 cases, the quantity of the spill was not even assessed. In all likelihood that would be another 80,000 tonnes or more.

Most major spills had occurred in the Western coast. Bombay Harbour and its neighbourhood had seen 15 spills from different vessels. Most of the spills were in the range of 100 to around 1300 tonnes but in two of these 6000 tonnes of naptha and 5500 tonnes of diesel spilled into the sea.

With the intense effort at being self-reliant in petroleum production, NELP VIII seeks $ 3 billion investment and offers deepwater blocks. Only one block each is in offer in Krishna-Godavari basin, five in Kerala-Konkan basin and the maximum 18 blocks are in the Andaman Sea. Operation methodology in most of these is similar to BP’s Gulf of Mexico operations.

The US is known to apply the most stringent safeguards to make the oil companies conduct themselves in the most responsible manner. But even the Obama government has failed to check the erring BP and compromised on demanding the $ 20 billion compensation. The oil companies wield significant political clout and have even earlier escaped strong US laws.

India does not have such strong regulations. Besides, as was evidenced in the Union Carbide case, safety is not the paramount aspect governing hazardous industries in this country. The latest Government steps are a grave threat to the pristine ecology, clear blue waters and mangrove forests of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. One of the biggest oil spills in Indian waters was off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1993 when about 40,000 tonnes were emptied from the M.V. Maersk Navigator. Such spills damage coral reefs as well, a rich source of food

In the past several accidents have occurred onboard offshore oil drilling /production platforms. Some of these were due to human errors leading to collision between the oil rig and a vessel. The Bombay High is often touted as the safest oil platform. Even this has suffered five major disasters, including a major fire in 2005. It claimed 11 lives. The platform produces 80,000 barrels of oil per day. But officially “only 80 tonnes of oil was stated to have spilled” till the fire was doused after several days. In two other leaks from vessels, at Bombay High 46000 tonnes of oil had spilled and in two cases of gas leak the quantity was not assessed.

Clearly, India is sitting over a lake of disasters and this fact has not been reported in as much detail as is needed. The magnitude of the impending disaster is likely to grow as explorations have started in the Bay of Bengal. It has emerged as an important source of gas to meet the Asian need.

Significantly, Bangladesh and Myanmar are sitting over a gas lake. Bangladesh has recoverable reserves of 15.51 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of which 4.07 tcf have been already produced. Myanmar has 81.03 tcf of natural gas in offshore blocks that stretch over 270,000 sq km in the Bay of Bengal. Sri Lanka has offered China and India nine blocks in the Mannar Basin.

How dangerous these operations could become may be understood by a January 1993 incident, when the ICG undertook Operation Safai to control the oil-spill resulting from a collision between two super tankers off the Straits of Malacca. The spill had spread over 8000 square nautical miles and was observed as close as 10 nautical miles from the Nicobar Islands. The National Institute of Oceanography reports that pollution surveys along the oil tanker routes in the Arabian Sea and in the southern Bay of Bengal from south of Sri Lanka to the head of the Malacca Strait showed an abundance of oil slicks amounting to nearly 3700 tonnes and 1100 tonnes of floating tar balls in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal respectively.

India’s rising demands for energy resources have led to aggressive oil exploration activities at sea to locate new oil and gas fields. India’s EEZ is dotted with offshore platforms engaged in offshore exploration for oil and gas in various basins--Cambay/Mumbai, Cauvery, Krishna-Godavari, Kutch, Mahanadi and West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kerala basin.

Another matter of concern is that the cleaning up of the slicks caused by corporate activities or failure is the responsibility of the Government. In all the 60 cases, the Coast Guard is known to have borne the expenses. Oil and shipping companies merrily sail through the disasters.

Indeed, the BP disaster has opened up a debate over the responsibility of the companies. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) chairman RS Sharma has stated: “The BP oil spill has been a game changer for the industry. Going forward, I see a very difficult and very challenging time for us to operate within India and outside”.

However, sadly the industry has yet not developed any module. Southeast Asia which is the growing hub for oil exploration and production has not yet mulled over this threat. It is time that India wakes up to the threat. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)