Impact of oil field operations on soil quality near upper Assam oil fields

Abstract

The thesis consists of three chapters under the broad headings of (i) Introduction, (ii) Objectives, study area, methods and materials, and (iii) Results and discussion and a bibliography. Chapter I. The first chapter introduces the subject of soil science with particular reference to macro and micro-nutrients. Impact of petroleum exploration, drilling and production is then treated with an elaborate description of damages to water bodies, effects of gas flares, solid wastes generated in the oil fields and their disposal, effects of oil spill on soil and water, penetration and spread of oil through soil, degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons on soil, the impact of petroleum hydrocarbons on vegetation, the contribution of petroleum to the metal-contents of soil, etc. The chapter is basically a review of some selected literature on topics of relevance to the present study. It highlights the gross impact of operations in an oil field on the environment as a whole and an soil in particular. Through the review of literature, important works on the line are discussed to bring out the various contributing factors towards soil damage due to spills and leakages of petroleum during its drilling and production stages. Chapter II. The second chapter starts with a description of the objectives of the study, namely, (i) to monitor soil quality in the upper Assam oil fields with respect to a few important physico-chemical properties, (ii) to study the variation, if any, on the soil quality with distance from the operating points of the oil fields, (iii) to observe contents of a few metals on the grains of rice-paddy grown in the oil field areas, (iv) to study the impact of crude oil on rice paddy cultivation in a laboratory experiment and (v) to draw various conclusions from the data obtained through statistical analysis and other means. The study area, selected for this work, falls in the districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sibsagar and Jorhat of the state of Assam (India) the first area in the country where oil was struck more...