Pristine locations such as far-off islands and forests now are targeted as prospective oil and gas reserves due to our growing energy needs. While there are some obvious benefits of this prospect, it is not without its downsides.
Exploring energy options in uncharted territories has some economic benefits to consider. Firstly, it is an economically viable solution to global energy needs. As well as meeting the growing demand for fuel, outsourcing petrol from remote areas can reduce fuel prices across the world while maximizing revenue for the producer. A Russian oil and gas manufacturer is a good case in point. The company successfully managed to fill the market deficit for oil and increased its bottom line once it established oil wells in cold, uninhabited Siberia. True, production costs may somewhat increase, but they are eventually offset by revenue from considerable production scaling. Additional economic upsides range from creation of jobs to a reduction in transportation cost in the food supply chain. In this sense, the prospect of expanding oil production in untouched areas is economically virtuous.
Expansion of oil production in untouched ecosystems has some externalities to consider, and arguably the most concerning one is environmental damage. That is, oil production and refining processes such as drilling crude oil and distilling it destroys the wildlife and its habitat and creates a range of environmental problems such as soil erosion, air pollution, and water contamination from the release of toxins. All these problems lead to environmental degradation in far-off wilderness areas. There is also a concern over depletion of Earth’s natural resources. It is common knowledge that energy sources such oil and gas are non-renewable and limited. Revamping oil production, in this regard, could drain natural energy reserves, resulting in global energy crisis. This, in turn, leads to worldwide economic recession seeing as the world economy is mainly driven by energy production.
In conclusion, while the idea of exploiting oil and gas reserves in remote areas can be supported for short-term economic gains, the downsides are environmental harm and economic downturn in the long run.