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Brian BriggsRace, Poverty and the EnvironmentProfessor Raquel
PinderhughesUrban Studies ProgramSan Francisco State University
Spring 2004Public has permission to use the material herein, but
only if author, course, university, and professor are
credited.Oiled cormorant on a rocky oil-covered shore Photo
Courtesy of EVOS Oil Spill Facts
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/photos/exxon/exxon.html
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To The Victors, Go the Oil. by Winston Smith nobloodforoil.org
This presentation focuses on oil.
It is designed to show the impacts oil has in regards to race,
poverty and the environment. It takes you through the cradle
tograve lifecycle of oil, paying particular attention to the
social,environmental and public health impacts of theprocesses
associated with oil consumption. We start by looking at oil
exploration and extraction. Then we analyze the oil refining
process. After that we analyze the distributionof oil to the
marketplace. Following this we will conclude with oil
consumptionand the end waste product of oil.
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I: Oil Exploration and ExtractionOil is a fossil fuel that is
formed from the remains of tiny plants and animals, known as
plankton that died in ancient seas between 10 million and 600
million years ago. The plankton fell to the bottom of the sea and
after decaying, the organisms formed sedimentary layers. In the
layers, little or no oxygen is present and this allows
microorganisms to break down the remains into carbon-rich compounds
that form organic layers. The organic material mix with the
sediments to form fine-grained shale, or source rock. As the
sedimentary rocks layer, they exert extreme heat and pressure to
distill the organic material into crude oil and natural gas. The
oil then flows from the source rock and accumulates in thicker,
more porous limestone or sandstone known as reservoir rock. When
the earth moves the oil and natural gas is trapped in reservoir
rocks, which are between layers of impermeable rock, or cap rock
usually granite or marble. The whole process takes millions of
years. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html
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Finding Oil
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The Government and Oil companies usually assign finding oil to
contracted geologistsThe Geologists make an average of $100,230
making it an incentive to find new reservesOil geologists examine
surface features, surface rock, reservoir rock, entrapment,
satellite images, sensitive gravity meters and magnometers. They
can also detect the smell of hydrocarbons using electronic noses
called sniffers.The most common technique for finding reserves is
seismology which uses shock waves that interpret waves reflected
back to the surface.Despite all the technologies, modern oil
exploration methods are only 10 percent
successful.http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htm
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Once the Site is Selected
The area is surveyed to determine its boundaries.Environmental
studies are said to be done.The land is cleared and then access
roads are built.Water is drilled if there are no natural sources
available.A reserve pit is dug to dispose of rock cuttings and mud.
It is lined with plastic to protect the environment only if the
area is considered to be ecologically sensitive.Several holes are
dug to make way for the rig and main holeA rectangular pit (cellar)
is dug around the location of the drilling hole. (This provides a
workspace)The crew drills a main hole Additional holes are dug to
the side to store equipmentGetting the land readyMaking way for the
rig
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Setting Up the RigOnce the land is ready, several holes are dug
to make way for the rig and main hole. A rectangular pit called a
cellar is dug around the location of the actual drilling hole. The
cellar provides a workspace around the hole. The crew then drills a
main hole. The following is how a rig is set
up.http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htm
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Drilling1. Place the drill bit, collar and drill pipe in the
hole.2. Attach the Kelly and turntable and begin drilling.3. As
drilling progresses, circulate mud through the pipe and out of the
bit to float the rock cutting out of the hole.4. Add new sections
(joints) of drill pipes ad the hole gets deeper.5. Remove (trip
out) the drill pipe, collar and bit when the pre-set depth
(anywhere from a few hundred to a couple thousand feet) is
reached.Photo courtesy Institute of Petroleum
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htmDirections on
drilling
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Confirming the Presence of OilAfter the pre-wet depth is
reached, the workers run and cement the casing pipe sections into
the hole to prevent it from collapsing. Drilling continues in
stages. When the rock cuttings from the mud reveal the oil sand
from the reservoir rock, they may have reached the final depth. At
this point, they remove the drilling apparatus from the hole and
perform several tests to confirm the presence of oil. These tests
are Well logging, Drill-stem testing, and Core samples. Photo
courtesy Phillips Petroleum Co. Rotary workers trip drill pipe
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.htm
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Extracting the OilOnce the well is completed, the operators must
start the flow of oil into the well. For limestone reservoir rock,
acid is pumped down the well and out the perforations. For
sandstone reservoir rock, a special blended fuel containing
proppants is pumped down the well and out the perforations. The
pressure from this fluid makes small fractures in the sandstone
that allow oil to flow into the well, while the proppants hold
these fractures open. Once the oil is flowing, the oilrig is
removed from the site and production equipment is set up to extract
the oil from the
well.http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.htm
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Where indigenous people clashwith development projects, the
developers almost always win-- The U.S State DepartmentPhoto
courtesy of Project Underground
http://www.moles.org/uwa/index.html
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Although lease agreements, titles and right-of way accesses for
the land must be obtained and evaluated legally, this is not the
caseThe Rainforest Action Network in an article named Drilling to
the Ends of the Earth, states, The Uwa of Colombia, the Karen of
Burma, the Nahua of Peru all of these indigenous peoples and dozens
more are threatened by the global expansion of the oil
industry.
In the same article, it is said that, The World Bank plans to
fund an oil pipeline through Central African rainforests that will
bring huge profits to Shell, Exxon, and Elf while causing
environmental havoc. Also, The oil companies are about to build a
600-mile pipeline from the Daba oil fields in Chad to coastal
Cameroon, slashing through fragile rainforest that is home to the
Baka and Bakola peoples, communities of traditional
hunters-gatherers.
In Nigeria oil disasters are common and in one case 200
villagers died in a pipeline explosion in 2000. Often times safety
standards are more lax in developing countries than developed
countries benefiting oil companies
The governments of nation states use bloody military tactics to
quell uprisings and protests to oil fields by indigenous people who
are protecting their land. These states are given money to exploit
indigenous populations and are expected to protect the interests of
the oil companies.
The Oil companies target the land of indigenous people.
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Environmental Impacts of Oil ExtractionThe dumping of a million
liters of waste into an abandoned oil well by Shell caused the
presence of heavy metals at above acceptable limits and the
unusually high concentrations of ions make the substance toxic. If
these substances were to infiltrate the underground water or
aquifer, it would have serious environmental and health
implications.
The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Oil companies, and
the governments of the world overlook environmental impact studies
which conclude that oil extraction directly causes deforestation,
poaching, loss of community land, water contamination, and health
impacts to people, animal and flora life.
Occidental Petroleum built there production facilities of Cano
Limon on a floodplain, causing flood waters to interact with open
pit petroleum waste disposal sites carrying both the toxic and
carcinogenic chemical waste directly into local waterways,
depleting the water of oxygen and killing living organisms.
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II. Crude Oil Distribution to Refineries
http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/fossils/p7.html
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Crude oil to RefineriesOil fields and offshore oil rigs
generally have hundreds of wells with flow lines that carry crude
oil to the lease tanks. The crude oil flows from the wells to the
unseen lease tanks via the flow lines, where it is accumulated,
sampled and measured prior to further transportation via other
connecting pipelines. Oil pipelines are considered to be a closed
system since the chemicals theoretically dont touch the
environment, however leaks in the system do occur. Also, oil
tankers bring oil to refineries and as was the case in the Exxon
Valdez disaster, the environment suffers tremendously from oil
production. Photo Courtesy
ohttp://response.restoration.noaa.gov/photos/exxon/exxon.html EVOS
Oil Spill Facts
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Environmental DisasterNumbers of Spills over 700 tonnesStatistic
courtesy of http://www.itopf.com/stats.html
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Prestige Spill 2002The coastal waters of north-west Spain
support rich marine and bird life - virtually all of which is
threatened by the Prestige oil spill. Scientists are concerned
about the threat to the Balearic shearwater bird because in 1991,
the population was estimated to be approximately 3,300 breeding
pairs, but by 2000 this had been reportedly reduced to between
1,750 and 2,125 pairs. When the oil reaches coastal waters, it
wreaks far more damage on fragile ecosystems, some of them vital to
local human economies. It is possible for shellfish to be tainted
by the toxicity of the oil over periods of years. This has severe
implications for not only the shellfish populations themselves, but
the creatures, including birds and humans, which feed on them Oil
spills occur all around the world and many disasters like this
happened in the past and will continue in the future, causing
widespread devastation to the environment and those entities which
inhabit it.
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III: Oil
Refininghttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htm
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Fractional DistillationThe steps are as follows.1.Heat the
mixture of two or more substances with different boiling points to
a high temperature. Heating is usually done with high-pressure
steam to temperatures of about 1112 degrees Fahrenheit/600 degrees
Celsius2. The mixture boils, forming vapor (gases): most substances
go into the vapor phase.3. The vapor enters the bottom of a long
column (fractional distillation column) that is filled with trays
or plates. 4. The vapor rises in the column5. As the vapor rises
through the trays in the column, it cools.6. When a substance in
the vapor reaches a height where the temperature of the column is
equal to the substances boiling point, it will condense to form a
liquid.7.The trays collect the various liquid fractions8.The
collected liquid fractions may pass to condensers, which cool them
further, and then go to storage tanks or go to other areas for
further chemical processing.
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Further chemical processing is required in order to make
products such as gasoline of various grades, lubricating oils,
kerosene, jet fuel, heating oil, chemicals for plastics and other
polymers. It is possible to change one fraction into another
through these three methods; cracking, unification, and
alteration.Cracking takes large hydrocarbons and breaks them into
smaller ones.http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
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Unification is the process where smaller hydrocarbons are
combined to make larger ones. The main unification process is
called catalytic reforming and uses a catalyst to combine low
weight naphtha into aromatics which are used in making chemicals
and in blending gasoline. Alteration: The structures of molecules
in one fraction are rearranged to produce another. Commonly this is
done using alkylation- low molecular weight compounds are mixed in
the presence of a catalysts such as hydrofluoric acid or sulfuric
acid.http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
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Distilled and chemically processed fractions are treated to
remove impurities and is done by passing the fractions through the
following: 1.A column of sulfuric acid
2. An absorption column filled with drying agents to remove
water3.Sulfur treatment and hydrogen-sulfide scrubbers to remove
sulfur and sulfur
compoundshttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining3.htm
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Products From Refined Oil Refractiongasoline of various grades,
with or without additives lubricating oils of various weights and
grades (e.g. 10W-40, 5W-30) kerosene of various grades jet fuel
diesel fuel heating oil chemicals of various grades for making
plastics and other polymers
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining6.htm
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Oil refining causes the destruction of vegetation, contaminates
water supplies, causes respiratory problems, destroys land, and
harms living organisms. The refineries are located in poor,
predominately communities of color in urban and rural areas. Common
in oil refineries are gas flares. Gas flaring releases carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur oxide, into the air and is extremely harmful to people
especially women who are pregnant , the young and elderly. This
Chevron refinery accident in the background, which is located in
Richmond, California, is common and caused more than 1,200 to show
up at emergency rooms, complaining of breathing difficulties and
eye irritations. Chevron claims this accident had no immediate life
threatening danger to people in the surrounding area, however they
fail to account for the bio-accumulation of particulate toxins that
are embedded in the lungs of workers and neighbors.Refineries run
by the likes of BP Amoco and others have spewed toxic waste into
the workplace, as well as the air and groundwater of neighboring
communities, for decades. This behavior has severely affected the
health and safety of refinery workers. It has left the refineries'
neighbors - often poor communities of color - dirty water and air,
low property values and depressing nick names such as "cancer
alley." ---corpwatch.org
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Todays Oil Refinery Environmental Disaster in the Bay Area April
29, 2004A pipeline that pumps petroleum from refineries in the San
Francisco Bay area ruptured and spilled an estimated 60,000 gallons
of diesel fuel into a marsh that serves as a nesting ground for
migratory birds.
Several dead animals, mostly ducks, were found at the scene.
The marsh, located just north of Suisun Bay, covers 57,000 acres
and is home to about 700,000 birds, including migratory shorebirds
and raptors. .
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III: From Refinery to the Marketplacehttp://chevron.com/
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Oil, Gasoline, Polymers, and Plastics are moved around to the
marketplace in trucks, trains, ships and via pipelinesTanker trucks
hold around 9,000 gallons of gasolineTanker ships hold around 1.26
million barrels of oilIt would take 14 and a quarter tanker ships
to carry all the oil that the U.S consumes in one day The U.S alone
has over 200,000 miles of oil pipelinesPhoto courtesy of
chevron.com
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Oil Transportation to the Marketplace
Numerous cases of land, ocean and lake spills of petroleum have
been detected all over the world, causing the irregular operation
of petroleum pumping, fluid transport, tank storage, plant and
refinery, and maritime and truck transport facilities. The spills
and leaks of petroleum and refined products have been detected
from: overflowing tanks, leaking extraction and pumping stations,
ocean tankers and tank trucks. Petroleum and derivatives have
spilled into lakes, the ocean, and land areas surrounding industry
facilities. Loaded tank trucks have overturned, spilling diesel and
gasoline fuel on roads and highways.
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Gas Stations LeakMethyl tertiary butyl ether -- a gasoline
additive that is carcinogenic has been detected in so many wells,
lakes and underground aquifers across the country that MTBE
contamination is a major environmental problem.In California --
home to 27 million vehicles and more than 9,500 gas stations --
MTBE has contaminated 10,000 shallow groundwater sites, including
1,000 in the Bay Area. It has also been found in dozens of the
state's lakes and reservoirs, including Shasta, Tahoe and Donner in
the north and Castaic, Pyramid and Perris in the south. The U.S.
Geological Survey has found the controversial additive in more than
a quarter of the nation's shallow urban wells, as well as in
streams, lakes, rain and snow. Researchers have found that MTBE can
cause cancer in animals, and they believe it is a potential
carcinogen in human beings. In South Lake Tahoe, leaks at
underground gas station tanks have caused the water district to
close 12 of 34 wells.
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IV: Oil
Consumptionhttp://www.detroithummer.com/weeklyspecials.html
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Oil consumption in the United StatesThe U.S consumes about 18
million barrels of oil each dayA barrel of oil produces about 18-20
gallons of gasolineThe United States consumes 360 million gallons
of gas a dayThe U.S consumes around 131 billion barrels of oil each
year
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World Oil
Consumptionhttp://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en
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Products Consumed from
Oilhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/non-renewable/oil.html
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V. Waste ProcessesCarbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere
when fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), are burned.
Plastics are dumped into landfills if not recycled and seep into
the earth over time.
An oil well can produce at least 1,500 tons of toxic drilling
muds which are dumped into rivers, streams and soils.
Wastewater from the petrochemical industry contains hazardous
chemicals, such as hydrocarbons, phenol or ammoniacal nitrogen
among others
The average refinery generates 10,000 gallons a day of waste
that contains many toxic chemicals known to cause cancer, birth
defects, breathing problems and other serious health effects.
Refineries create an unfair burden of pollution and economic
injustice because they mostly exist in communities of color and
low-income neighborhoods. These communities pay a huge price while
the rest of society collects more of the benefits.
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Global Warming
The term Global Warming refers to the observation that the
atmosphere near the Earth's surface is warming Carbon dioxide is
the gas largely blamed for global warming Carbon dioxide, mostly
from burning of coal, gasoline and other fossil fuels, traps heat
that otherwise would radiate into space Before the industrial age
and extensive use of fossil fuels, the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere stood at about 280 parts per million
Average readings at the 11,141-foot Mauna Loa Observatory, where
carbon dioxide density peaks each northern winter, hovered around
379 parts per million, compared with about 376 a year ago That
year-to-year increase of about 3 parts per million is considerably
higher than the average annual increase of 1.8 parts per million
over the past decade
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Global Warming ImpactRising global temperatures are expected to
raise sea level, and change precipitation and other local climate
conditions. Changing regional climate could alter forests, crop
yields, and water supplies. It could also affect human health,
animals, and many types of ecosystems. Deserts may expand into
existing rangelands, and features of some of our National Parks may
be permanently altered. Most of the United States is expected to
warm, although sulfates may limit warming in some areas. Scientists
currently are unable to determine which parts of the United States
will become wetter or drier, but there is likely to be an overall
trend toward increased precipitation and evaporation, more intense
rainstorms, and drier soils.
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VI: ConclusionFocusing our attention on the aspects of race,
class and oil, my thoughts about the lifecycle of oil is that the
world needs oil, just not as much oil. It is unfortunate that oil
companies profit at the expense of the environment and people based
on race, and class. What angers me the most is the oil companies
dont care about their actions but instead are preoccupied with
greed. I find it sad that the top 20% of oil consumers consume 80%
at the expense of poor and minority communities who are barely
benefiting from it, if at all. Although the entire world is
negatively impacted by oil consumption, poor and minority
communities are overburdened by the Condoleezza Rices, George
Bushs, Dick Cheneys, of the world amongst others who highly profit
from it. I find it also disgusting that the above listed shady
characters are the leaders of the biggest oil consumer, the United
States. Furthermore, not enough is being done to implement
alternatives, many of which can be widely mainstreamed into
society.
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AlternativesBio-diesel: If 100 million hectares is brought under
cultivation we can get castor seeds of 150 million tonnes out of
which we can get 50 million tonnes of oilHybrid Cars: an internal
combustion engine with an electric motor that is used at lower
speedsWind Power: Uses wind instead of burning fossil fuelsRide a
bike: Stop being lazyPublic Transportation: Sit down and read a
book. Also, public transportation should focus on using an
alternative to gasoline, and diesel.SUVs: SUVs arent needed to
drive around town. If you need one to go camping and etc., rent
one. Solar power: Instead of burning fossil fuels for electricity,
use the sun. Stop paying Pacific Gas and Electricity. They are rich
enough.
These and other alternatives can help save the environment and
reduce the negative impacts to people.
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Only you can prevent oil consumptionIts not bloody likely that
the oil companies are going to stop producing oil however you can
reduce their profits. As a consumer, we can make choices that will
lessen the impact that oil has on race, poverty, and the
environment. So as much as you can, ride your bike, take public
transportation, buy a hybrid car, set your thermostat to 65
degrees, use solar power, dont buy a SUV, and for gods sake dont
vote for George Bush in 2004.
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Referenceshttp://www.junkscience.com/dec98/sfmtbe.htmhttp://www.cbecal.org/alerts/oil/index.shtmlhttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/what.htmlhttp://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/Impacts.htmlhttp://www.eco-action.org/dt/mad2.htmlhttp://response.restoration.noaa.gov/photos/exxon/exxon.htmlhttp://acclaimimages.com/http://chevron.com/http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=homehttp://www.bp.com/home.dohttp://www.76.com/http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling2.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling3.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling4.htmhttp://www.moles.org/uwa/index.htmlhttp://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/fossils/p7.htmlhttp://response.restoration.noaa.gov/photos/exxon/exxon.htmlhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-drilling1.htm
ktvu.comhttp://www.detroithummer.com/weeklyspecials.htmlhttp://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5enhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/non-renewable/oil.html
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Referenceshttp://www.itopf.com/stats.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining2.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining5.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining3.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-refining6.htm
Economides, Michael and Oligney, Ronald. The Color of Oil.
Texas: Round Oak Publishing. 2000
Olukoya, Sam. Environmental Justice from the Niger Delta to the
World Conference Against Racism.
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=18. Race,
Poverty, and the Urban Environment Reader. Professor Pinderhughes.
10 April 2004
Sheppard, Nora. Introduction to the Oil Pipeline Industry. Texas
The University of Texas at Austin. 1984
Turcotte, Heather. National, International and Global Security
Issues Within Petroleum Production. Turkish Journal of
International Relations Volume 1 Number 4. http:
www.alternativesjournal.com