Topic: Impact and Safety of Deep Water Drilling
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Cody Hoeffel
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Brazil position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
Deep water drilling can be a severe threat to the surrounding environment. However, with proper regulation and preparation it can be a safe venture. The recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has opened the world's eyes, including Brazil's, to the threats of offshore drilling. Regulation through national governments has had varying results, ranging from very little regulation and few incidents off the coasts of the Middle East to rather heavy regulation in the United States and what has so far been one major crisis. Brazil believes that an international standard needs to be set for offshore drilling. The security of the wells and blow off valves must be guaranteed to prevent another disaster. The day-to-day operations of these wells must also be regulated, to reduce their effect on the environment, these regulations would include limits on drilling fluid discharge and flaring. In addition to regulations on the wells there must be a standard for oil carrying vessels and their crew to prevent spills from the ships. The platforms must also be proven to have a minimal impact on the surrounding environment, specifically the surrounding ecosystem, the local fish, coral, and other organisms, or that the platform can be disassembled in a matter that would once more have a minimal impact on the environment. The international community must set a global standard, this standard must be enforced by the members of the United Nations Environmental Program. Oil is still an essential resource, without it the modern world would not be, the regulations set forth by this committee must therefore only ensure the safety of offshore drilling and not bring an end to it until alternatives such as plastics made from the byproducts of crops, electric vehicles, and alternative power sources for those vehicles and the cities are fully developed. The committee should therefore seek to slowly ween the rights to offshore drilling down as the technologies and resources are developed to replace it. This gradual limitation of offshore drilling will encourage the development of these green technologies until oil is a lesser resource. The nations that currently profit from offshore drilling will likely oppose any such limitations and draw downs, but these nations must realize that the limitations will be gradual, likely taking a true toll on offshore drilling only when practical alternatives can be put to use and the oil slowly replaced
