What happens when there is an oil spill at sea?
Clean-up crews worked on Wednesday to contain an oil spill in the Yellow Sea near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, a day after a tanker carrying around a million barrels of bitumen mix collided with a bulk vessel. While a preliminary study by Chinese maritime officials estimated about 500 tonnes (3,420 barrels) of oil had been spilled, it was still unclear as to the how much had been emptied into the sea. Here are some facts about oil spills and their impact on the environment. TYPES OF OIL SPILLS Spills typically involve two forms of oils, non-persistent and persistent. Non-persistent oils, which include gasoline, light diesel oil and kerosene, will dissipate rapidly through evaporation although in high concentrations there is potential for acute toxicity to marine organisms, according to a report by ITOPF, a non-profit organisation focused on providing response to oil spills by ships. Persistent oil, which includes crude oils, fuel oils, lubricating oils and heavier grades of marine diesel oil, break up and dissipate more slowly in the marine environment and usually require a clean-up operation, ITOPF said. “Heavier oils and crude generally don’t evaporate much and instead of dispersing they form emulsions with the sea water, are much more persistent, spread further and will sink and become mixed with sediments or on coastlines will smother the beaches, rocks,” said Sian Prior, lead advisor with the Clean Arctic Alliance coalition, which has sought to ban the use of heavy fuel oil by ships in the sensitive Arctic region. “Bacteria will work to degrade these oils too but it takes longer. These types of oil spills lead to much greater volumes of oiled material being retrieved as they coat anything.” In terms of toxicity, specialists say bitumen heavy oils usually contain higher loads of many toxic components of oil than other grades. WILDLIFE IMPACT Zhou Wei, a Beijing-based oceans campaigner with Greenpeace, said Tuesday’s collision took place close to the Qingdao and Chaolian islands and the coastal area of Qingdao city. “That area is an important area for feeding and spawning for a variety of sea life, including fish and shrimp. In recent years, whales and dolphins have also been observed in that area.” A 2020 study found there were dense underwater kelp forests near Chaolian Island. The extent of an oil spill’s impact at sea will also depend on how far it spreads and the effects of wind, temperature and current. David Santillo, a U.K.-based scientist with Greenpeace, said much of the impact would depend on the grade of bitumen the tanker was carrying, but part of it was expected to sink to the sea floor. “At the surface, this type of oil can be easier to contain and recover than some lighter oils, depending on conditions and if responses are immediate. But once subject to spreading and wave action, and when it washes up on shores, it can become as difficult as any oil spill,” he said. “And once it is beneath the surface, whether at depth in the water or spread over the seabed, it makes recovery even more difficult, if not impossible.”
Reliance, Saudi Aramco discuss cash and share stake deal: Report
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is reported to have held talks with Saudi Aramco on a cash and share deal for sale of a 20 per cent stake in its oil refining and petrochemical arm. Ambani had in August 2019 announced talks for the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, which comprises its twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical assets, to the world’s largest oil exporter. The deal was to conclude by March 2020 but has been delayed for reasons not disclosed by either company. Financial Times quoting sources reported that the talks have been revived in recent weeks. Aramco is weighing paying for the stake with its shares initially and then staggered cash payments over several years, it said adding the proportion of shares versus cash was still up for debate and terms had yet to be finalised. An email sent to Reliance Industries for comments was not answered. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman late on Tuesday hinted at talks to sell a minority stake in the Saudi national oil company to a foreign investor. “I don’t want to give any promises but there’s a discussion for the acquisition of 1 per cent,” he said in a television interview. He did not give details of the deal or the parties involved but added that it would be “very important in strengthening Aramco’s sales in the country where this company resides”. Financial Times said talk about the transfer of share ownership could be referring to the Reliance deal but that it was more likely to be related to separate discussions with Chinese and other investors about stake sales in Saudi Aramco. A stake in Reliance’s O2C business would give Aramco an entry into one of the world’s fastest-growing fuel markets. It would also give a ready-made market for 5 lakh barrels per day of its Arabian crude and offering a potentially bigger downstream role in the future. Reliance had in 2019 put USD 75 billion as the value of the O2C business after signing a non-binding letter of intent with Saudi Aramco. “Saudi Aramco remains in discussion with Reliance for potential partnership,” Morgan Stanley had said last month. Aramco has an equity stake in China’s largest O2C project at Zhejiang with a long-term crude supply agreement and a plan to build a network of retail outlets. It also has a fuel retailing joint venture with Sinopec operating 1,000 retail outlets. “A similar footprint possible in India,” Jefferies had said in a separate report last month. “An investment in RIL’s O2C subsidiary could give Aramco a similar footprint – a stake in India’s largest O2C project with a long-term crude supply agreement and a participation in fuel retailing via the RIL-BP joint venture.”