Ethical Considerations in Petroleum Engineering
Much of petroleum engineering raises ethical concerns due to its impact on the environment. The exploitation of oil and gas reserves affects our planet through activities like drilling and fracking, leading to potential harm such as methane leaks and greenhouse gas emissions. While the industry plays a crucial role in meeting energy demands, the ethical responsibility lies in balancing progress with environmental sustainability. Petroleum engineers are challenged to address these ethical dilemmas by striving for safety, integrity, and the greater good.
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Presentation Transcript
Ethics of Petroleum Engineering Conversation Friday Friday 7/08/2016
Ethics of any engineer We must always be striving to help the general public and the greater good Never sacrifice safety for personal gain Never cheat or take shortcuts
What must be looked at Much of petroleum engineering can be debated whether it is good or bad by the public Drilling for oil is altering the earth We often use drilling and fracking fluids Argued that fracking causes methane leaks into drinking water Petroleum (Oil and Gas) are fossil fuels, that release greenhouse gases
What are greenhouse gases? Gases that help trap heat from the sun inside our atmosphere Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Water Vapor, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, and Chloroflourocarbons
So why not move on from oil? We know that the amount of oil and gas we burn is changing our earth, so why not stop? We currently don t have the ability to Wind and solar are fantastic, but not yet effective enough Cars, trucking, shipping, and airplanes are almost fuy dependent on oil and natural gas Most of the US power comes from natural Gas electricity plants
Are Petroleum Engineers against Climate change? No! Most petroleum engineers are hopeful that as a species we can move on to a sustainable future We hope to help improve the oil industry to help us get there I work to help find ways to get more oil out of every well Many petroleum engineers strive to help produce oil until we can come up with the solutions to replace it
What is climate change? From our greenhouse gas production over the last few years, we have: Increased the global temperature This melts polar ice caps, raising sea levels and several other consequences, like weather pattern changes Greatly increased the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere This CO2 dissolves into the oceans, making it more acidic, which has changed ocean life
When did We Learn about Climate Change? Scientists have been aware of rising CO2 levels since the mid 70 s Exxon did a full study of CO2 emissions levels, but tried to hide their results, fearing it could hurt the companies profits The public was exposed to climate change through Al Gore s An Inconvenient Truth (2006) [Trailer] So where are we now? [2016] Let s take a short break and come back
What must we do To sustain our future on earth we have to get our CO2 emissions below the amount that the earth can filter out Right now, the oceans have the ability to healthily recycle exactly the amount of CO2 that comes from air travel This means that everything else, heating our homes, driving cars and trucks, shipping and cargo, and electricity generation must become free of CO2 Right now, we can produce about 10% of what we need from solar and wind
Lets Look at our own emissions Go to : https://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do And see the different sources from emissions in your county, state or any region you are interested in. What is the total reported emissions for your country? Are there any plants nearby? Look at the trends
