The issues faced by Exxon and British Petroleum while providing adequate supply of energy is nearly same. Both the organizations were previously involved in incidents that harmed the environment drastically (Halley 2013). British Petroleum was involved in Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident and Exxon was involved in The Wreck of the Exxon Valdez incidents. Both the incidents proved that oil and gas companies are absolutely not following the safety measures while performing their activities (Donohue 2015). Both the organizations promised their stakeholders that they are following sustainable organizational structure in order to protect the environment. However, in both of the cases, it was seen that Exxon and British Petroleum neglected all the warning and did not have ample amount of protective equipments that caused severe harm to t he environment (Fukuyama et al. 2014). Because of these incidents, both the organization not only faced tons of criticism from media, animal rights and human rights organizations, but also faced threats from organizations that are working to ensure environmental safety (Perrons 2013). Even after the incidents, the management of the organizations showed no urgency to minimize the threat that the aquatic animals faced from oil spills. Therefore, a serious question was raised that whether these companies really care about the environment or they only care about their profitability. Besides, as environment related rules and regulations are becoming stricter in most of the countries, these companies are facing further issues while operating. In oil and gas extraction operations, the chances are high that water contamination will take place due to discharges of water effluents rich in inorganic salts and seepage from storage and waste tanks (Robinson 2014). Now, both Exxon and British Petroleum are expected to apply number of changes in their operational procedures. Governments are demanding that these companies must invest more test their equipments, develop an efficient risk management plan, contingency plan and quick response plan (Lamendella et al. 2014). However, it is quite difficult for Exxon and BP to restructure their entire structure as it is extremely cost effective and time effective.
On the other hand, Frackin Industry is also facing issues because of its potential harmful effects on the environment. Unlike oil and gas companies, this industry’s environmental impacts are more critical (Gutierrez-Miravete 2013). During the method of fracking, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from, the well that contaminates nearby ground water. Till 2015, nearly 1000 cases were documented where it was mentioned that water is being contaminated near the fracking areas (Jackson et al. 2014). On the other hand, this process requires a huge amount of water and 90 Percent of that water never returns to the surface. As a result, water-stressed regions such as Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, California, Utah and Texas faced critical issues (Considine et al. 2016). Besides, a study was conducted by John Hopkins University that displayed that in suburban and rural areas near fracking sites have an overall radon concentration 40 percent higher than those situated in non-fracking areas. According to Meng and Ashby (2014), geological surveys have revealed that fracking is also responsible for earthquakes. Therefore, fracking is banned in severa countries such as France and the US.
References
Considine, T.J., Considine, N.B. and Watson, R., 2016. Economic and Environmental Impacts of Fracking: A Case Study of the Marcellus Shale. International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 9(3–4), pp.209-244.
Donohue, K.M., 2015. From Oil to Anthrax. Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council, 72(1).
Fukuyama, A.K., Shigenaka, G. and Coats, D.A., 2014. Status of intertidal infaunal communities following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Marine pollution bulletin, 84(1), pp.56-69.
Gutierrez-Miravete, E., 2013. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Halley, J.D., 2013. Exxon Valdez Incident. Proto-Type, 1.
Jackson, R.B., Vengosh, A., Carey, J.W., Davies, R.J., Darrah, T.H., O'sullivan, F. and Pétron, G., 2014. The environmental costs and benefits of fracking. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 39, pp.327-362.
Lamendella, R., Strutt, S., Borglin, S., Chakraborty, R., Tas, N., Mason, O.U., Hultman, J., Prestat, E., Hazen, T.C. and Jansson, J.K., 2014. Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact on Gulf coast microbial communities. Frontiers in microbiology, 5.
Meng, Q. and Ashby, S., 2014. Distance: A critical aspect for environmental impact assessment of hydraulic fracking. The Extractive Industries and Society, 1(2), pp.124-126.
Perrons, R.K., 2013. Assessing the damage caused by Deepwater Horizon: Not just another Exxon Valdez. Marine pollution bulletin, 71(1), pp.20-22.
Robinson, M.L., 2014. The Exxon Valdez: A Failure in Brand Crisis Leadership. In Marketing Big Oil: Brand Lessons from the World’s Largest Companies (pp. 48-54). Palgrave Macmillan US.
