Volume 3 • Issue 3 • 1000122 J Pet Environ Biotechnol ISSN: 2157-7463 JPEB, an open access journal Open Access Review Article Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology Adebayo and Tawabini, J Pet Environ Biotechnol 2012, 3:3 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7463.1000122 *Corresponding author: Abdulrauf Rasheed Adebayo, Petroleum Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, E-mail: raufrash@yahoo.com Received February 27, 2012; Accepted April 25, 2012; Published April 27, 2012 Citation: Adebayo AR, Tawabini B (2012) Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production- a Balance between Beneits to the Society and Impact on the Environment. J Pet Environ Biotechnol 3:122. doi:10.4172/2157-7463.1000122 Copyright: © 2012 Adebayo AR, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract There is an increasing concern for alternate source of fuel due largely to the environmental impacts of hydrocarbon exploration, production and usage. Global warming and marine pollution is the top on the list. However, the efforts and achievements of the industry over the years towards safer operations and greener environment seem to be ignored or unacknowledged. In this paper, effort is made to review the environmental effects of oil exploration and production and the role and achievements of the oil industry in mitigating these impacts. It is argued here that the dependence of man and society on hydrocarbon goes beyond just burning hydrocarbon for fuel but also cuts across hydrocarbon usage in various aspects of our social, technological and medical lives. Finally, we emphasized that the need for a balance between exploration and production of hydrocarbon and environmental integrity will be a reality only if parties involve step up synergy towards a safer operation. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production- a Balance between Benefits to the Society and Impact on the Environment Abdulrauf Rasheed Adebayo 1 * and Bassam Tawabini 2 1 Petroleum Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 2 Earth Science Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Keywords: Oil; Gas; Environment; Beneits; Oil industry; Greening; Man Introduction he exploration and usage of petroleum started much earlier than the modern history we are familiar with. According to the literature, petroleum exploration, drilling, production and reining started more than 4000 years ago. Petroleum related activities in Babylon, Roman province, Iraq, and China and the use of petroleum products (tar and asphalts) in construction, lamp oil and medicine are well documented. Modern history of petroleum began in the 19th century which marks the birth of petroleum industry in Poland, Romania, Russia, United States and Canada. he demand for petroleum for fuel rose at this period resulting in oil boom. By early 20th century, major oil ields were discovered in Canada, Mexico, Persia, and Venezuela and by 1950s, the invention of internal combustion engine marked the rise in importance of petroleum. By mid-20th century, oil rapidly replaced coal as a source of fuel. Today petroleum is an important part of politics, society and technology [1]. According to the 1993 estimates of United States Geological Survey, the world ultimate crude oil reserves is in the range of 2.1-2.8 trillion barrels [2] while total global oil consumption per day is about 89.9 million barrels [3]. Just as the societal demand and consumption of petroleum have grown exponentially, so is its impact on the environment. In the old era of petroleum, environmental efects of petroleum operations were insigniicant probably because of the small population, very small scale of production, utilization of simple tools and low petroleum usage. Petroleum was then a good mineral resource without adverse consequences. Today, petroleum exploration, production, transportation and usage result in adverse efects to the marine lives, land, atmosphere and humans. his is obviously due to the role of petroleum in our society today. It is the economic drive of many petroleum rich countries. It fuels the most important aspects of human society- the military, transportation, Agriculture, and electricity. By, October 31, 2011, the world population will reach 7 billion [4] and its major source of fuel is petroleum, hence petroleum supply must measure with human need. To be able to meet this demand, high technology tools and materials have been deployed which on one hand have signiicantly improved exploration and production activities and on the other hand have resulted in severe environmental consequences. Cao et al. [5] pointed out that such environmental consequences are primarily due to unsustainable usage of the new technologies and materials, and also unsustainable usage of natural resources (petroleum) which eventually result in the overstretch of the environmental carrying capacity of our society. Example of such technology is the use of complex drilling luids containing toxic chemical components detrimental to health of oil workers and to the lives of marine fauna and lora (where the cuttings smeared with drilling luids are usually dumped). Also the need and use of large tankers for large scale and long distance transportation of petroleum products from one region of the world to another is not without repercussions to the marine environments that serve as the transport routes. Furthermore, large scale burning of fossil fuel (in which petroleum is a signiicant part) is believed by many to be the cause of the increase in concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gas. hanks to the environmentalists that brought the attention of the oil industry to the consequences of their activities. his paper reviews the impacts of petroleum and its exploration and production to man and his society. he economic, industrial, technological and social beneits of petroleum are irst presented followed by a review of the health, economic, environmental and social consequences of petroleum operations to man and its environment. he concerns of the environmentalists and public is also brought to light and juxtaposed with the response of government agencies and the petroleum industry