Evaluation of Environmental Impacts of Oil Exploration and Production in Southern Iraq after Iraqi Freedom Operation In 2003

by

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this dissertation is a piece of original work and abides to the university rules and regulations of plagiarism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am thankful to my supervisor who assisted me throughout in completing my research and providing me support and encouragement.

DECLARATIONii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION5

1.1. Background of Study5

1.2. Statement of Problem8

1.3. Research Motivation14

1.4. Aim and Objectives14

Aim14

Objectivess14

1.5. Research Questions15

1.6. The Significance of the Study15

1.7. Research Outline16

REFERENCES18

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides the introduction of the research. This chapter enables a reader to understand the background of research, research problem, aims and objectives of research and research questions. This chapter is comprised on the same pattern to introduce the research topic.

1.1. Background of Study

In the past, the processes of oil drilling in Iraq were mainly conducted in the southern part of the country in Basra, and in Kirkuk, which is located in northern Iraq. Today, however, other areas have been drilled and now regularly provide oil supplies for the country and its trading partners. Today, there are four refineries for oil in Iraq. These are positioned in Basrah, Baiji, Erbil, and Daura (Williams 2009a, p.n.d.). There are also smaller distillation outlets that are sometimes used to refine oil. The Iraqi government has recently revealed its plans to construct additional refineries by 2017.

Figure 1: Oil producing regions of Iraq

In the year 2013, the total proven oil reserves of Iraq are estimated at 150 billion barrels. The country has fifth largest proven reservoirs of oil followed by Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Iran. The graph below is representing the proven oil reservoirs as of 2013 in different countries across the globe.

Figure 2: Oil proven reservoirs 2013

The following graph is representing the total oil production and total oil consumption in Iraq. The graph is showing a trend from the year 1965 to the year 2009. It is clear from the graph below that the oil production in Iraq is far higher than the oil consumption in the country. Oil is major export commodity and a source of earning foreign exchange for Iraq.

Figure 3: Iraq production and consumption of Oil

It was observed that by October 2010, Iraq was drilling for oil in more than 80 oil fields across the Mesopotamian and Zagros basins (Williams 2009a, p.n.d.). This surge in oil production is thought to have been the result of the recent re-structuring of existing fields and the increased production of oil in Kurdistan. While it would seem that increased production is beneficial to the country because it will further develop the living standards of Iraqi citizens, the reality of increased oil production is that it will only further damage the environment by releasing black plumes of oil-well fires in the air (Jhaveri, 2004, p.5). The contamination of oil in water from the underwater oil drilling is affecting the marine life and causing water pollution. Of all the substances that can be considered as hazardous chemicals, Total Petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), Petroleum ...