Oil Port Research Articles

A study of the sediments and communities in Milford Haven, Wales

Milford Haven is a well-established oil port which has been in operation since the early 1960s, at which time biological monitoring activities were also in progress. The majority of these activities were rocky shore studies. The first comprehensive study of sediments using remote sampling techniques was carried out in 1975 and revealed that a variety of community types were present within Milford Haven. Two further sediment surveys were completed during the months of April 1982 andApril 1984. In 1982, 135 stations were sampled. This was reduced to 55 in 1984, of which 46 were relocated from the 1982 work. The samples, obtained by means of a Day grab, were used for biological, sediment particle size, trace metal and hydrocarbon analyses. The objectives of the 1982 benthic survey were to make a thorough investigation of the distribution of species and communities in relation to environmental factors, and also to note possible effects of industrial activity within the survey area. Populations of several species appeared to have changed since the area was last surveyed during 1975. Several species characteristic of stressed environments, notably Chaetozone ?setosa, had increased in abundance. In Pembroke River there were interesting variations in the distribution and types of species present. Areas of interest were resurveyed during 1984 in order to monitor the status of the opportunist species in Milford Haven, and to provide more detailed data on the distribution of intertidal species in Pembroke River. The 1984 data showed that whilst the opportunistic species Chaetozone ?setosa had shown fluctuations in density from station to station, it had changed little in distribution or abundance between the two surveys. Other species typical of muddy areas had increased in density. Although not grossly polluted, communities showed signs of disturbance, probably as a result of dredging activities and various kinds of anthropogenic input. Pembroke River maintained a reasonably high diversity of species in comparison with other estuarine areas in the British Isles. The range in total hydrocarbon concentration was from 1 to 615 μgg −1 whilst the overall trace elements were comparatively low for an estuary with substantial areas of fine sediment. However, all contaminants showed a clear enrichment at certain localities within Milford Haven.

EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH A SINGLE-VESSEL OFFSHORE SPILL CLEANUP SYSTEM

ABSTRACT An oil spill cleanup system was developed to operate offshore with minimal requirements for vessel and personnel coordination. This Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System (VOSS) consists of a skimming barrier towed alongside a single vessel with an outrigger. Suction hoses run to pumps on deck, which are powered by a diesel-hydraulic powerpack. Recovered fluid is pumped through an oil-water separator before being directed to storage. The first VOSS units were installed aboard the LOOP Vigilance, a shrimp boat modified for oil spill response by the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). The use of these units in two small offshore spills is described. This field experience helped to identify operational practices for maximum system efficiency in various spill situations. System improvements have been made and areas for further development determined.

THE LOUISIANA OFFSHORE OIL PORT COMPUTERIZED OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN1

ABSTRACT The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP, Inc.) is installing a computerized oil spill contingency plan. The nature and operation of the LOOP, Inc. facilities raise unique difficulties that must be addressed in oil spill contingency planning for the system. The structure of the new computerized contingency plan, its application to the system, and the benefits derived from the plan are the subjects of this paper.

Aspects of the shore and sublittoral ecology of the Daucleddau estuary (Milford Haven)

The upper reaches of Milford Haven and the Daucleddau have an unusually rich fauna because of their depth and the abundance of hard substrata. The estuary is of commercial importance both in its potential for shell-fisheries and its development as a major oil port, bringing risks of serious pollution. Recent extensive sublittoral studies have added numerous faunistic records and have also cast further light upon changes in the zonation of sedentary marine animals as they penetrate brackish regions. Re-survey of a transit across the channel near Lawrenny has shown changes largely related to the spread of a vigorous immigrant competitor of the native oyster.

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the surficial sediments of Casco Bay, Maine.

In this communication, levels of 16 priority PAH's (US Environmental Protection Agency 1977) from the surficial sediments of Casco Bay, Maine are presented. Casco Bay is a 400 sq. km. embayment in the Gulf of Maine which includes Portland harbor, a major oil port and the principal fishing port in Maine. Recent data are presently available on the distribution of trace metals, PCB's and benthic fauna in Casco Bay.

METHOD FOR RANKING BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES IN OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLANNING1

ABSTRACT A method for identifying and ranking biologically important geographic areas in spill response planning is described. Although this project was conducted to minimize environmental risks due to accidental spillage from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the methodology is widely applicable. The method has three important characteristics: it is driven by the existing information base and easily updated, applicable to all coastal and aquatic environments, and capable of producing a list of priorities within a specific spill response planning area. The rationale of selecting ranking units and ranking criteria is presented. Habitat was selected as the best available ranking unit for oil spill response planning. “Habitat” is defined, and the attributes of habitats that make them useful analytical units are described. The ranking criteria selected (habitat recovery, persistence of oil, cleanup damage, important species supported, and habitat rarity) are defined and their evaluation explained. An application of the method is described for the LOOP spill response planning area. Habitats are identified and delineated, and values are assigned to the ranking criteria. The resultant habitat ranking is presented with recommendations for the incorporation of this analysis into a comprehensive oil spill contingency plan using a computerized geographic information system.

Environmental management analysis of the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port

The nation’s first deep-draft tanker facility, LOOP INC. (Louisiana Offshore Oil Port), is now in operation off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The environmental management of this large coastal project has been effective and is a result of cooperative interaction between the state of Louisiana and private industry. LOOP construction activities have inevitably damaged the Louisiana coastal environment. However, the environmental damage has been minimized by strong environmental safeguards built into the enabling legislation and concurred with by LOOP. Environmental input has influenced siting of the LOOP facilities, construction techniques, and operation procedures and has influenced the resolution of many of the environmental concerns that have arisen over the course of the project.

U.S. approves second offshore oil port

U.S. approves second offshore oil port

Change and Continuity in the British palm oil trade with West Africa, 1830–55

The utilization of a relatively unused source, the Customs Bills of Entry, enables the structure of the British side of the West African palm oil trade to be studied in detail. Three main developments emerged in the period from 1830 to 1855 when the introduction of regular steamer services radically altered the trade. Firstly, Liverpool's pre-eminence as the main British palm oil port began to be challenged by Bristol and London; secondly, Britain's reliance on the Niger Delta as a source of supply appears to have proportionately declined, and thirdly, new traders entered the trade, especially after 1840, and challenged the hegemony of the older, established merchants. These structural changes suggest that the organization of the British side of the oil trade, hitherto controlled by a few large Liverpool traders, was breaking down from the 1840s and that this contributed to increased tension and rivalry among British traders in West Africa. This in turn helps to explain the development of the aggressive behaviour between British traders and African middlemen, noted in the Niger Delta in the 1860s, which led to the subsequent appeals for British imperial intervention.

Dynamic Loading and Unloading of Liquids into Tanks

We consider the problem appearing in the loading and unloading of crude oil into storage tanks at an oil terminal or port. The numbers, sizes and initial condition of the storage tanks are known and what is required is to perform a given sequence of loading and unloading operations involving several types of crude into and out of these tanks. The different types of crude cannot be mixed, and what is required is to decide which crude is to be loaded (unloaded) into (out of) which tanks so as to minimize the value of an objective function. The objective considered is a general integral criterion and includes a criterion based only on the terminal state of the tanks as a special case. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer program in which the continuous variables are only involved in a subproblem with a network-flow structure. A branch-and-bound algorithm is described which makes use of graph theoretic lower bounds and dominance conditions to limit the search. The algorithm was tested on a number of real-world problems involving up to 45 loading and/or unloading operations, 11 types of crude and 20 storage tanks.

THE DESIGN AMD CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW OIL PORT IN DALIAN, C.P.R.

The construction of New Oil Port in Dalian, C.P.R., was started around the end 1974 and completed in autumn 1976.In this paper a summary of the essential considerations in design and construction of this oil port, such as the planning of the pier, the determination of exciting forces (namely wave forces, forces due to earthquake, mooring line forces and berthing forces due to the impact of tanker on the fenders)on structures, the design of the large cylindrical cassion with a diameter of 9m and a height up to 19.7m and the construction of connecting bridges by two types, is presented.

Price Fluctuations in the Early Palm Oil Trade

A previously unused price series from the Liverpool Mercury provides new information about the early days of the palm oil trade. A boom in 1818 drove prices to their century high, only to be followed in the 1820s by a prolonged depression. The boom may have encouraged merchants to try to bring Bonny into the oil trade, as its development as an important oil port dates from this time. However the depression of the '20s did not prevent the continued expansion of the trade, which was also sustained during the better prices of the 1830s. This information does not affect Northrup's recent suggestion that the slave trade continued to expand in the 1830s, as his evidence is inconclusive and there is no comparable information on slave prices. Yet clearly both trades were carried on side by side at the time. This was not because their supply networks were different. Slaves and oil were both sent from Ibibioland, being peripheral to the main economic activity of that region, domestic agriculture and craftwork.

The Shetland Islands: the effects of social and ecological change on mental health.

The authors review the literature concerning the mental health and social effects of industrialization, urbanization and the transition from a rural to an industrial society. They point out the need for prospective and longitudinal studies. To illustrate a working model of the type of research needed, the authors describe a long-term study now underway in the Shetland Islands. This research investigates the effects that rapid social and ecological change (from the North Sea oil developments) will have on the islanders. To test the hypothesis that the changes, associated with the construction of Europe's largest oil port in these previously isolated rural islands, will have a deleterious effect on the Shetlanders' health and way of life, a prospective study has been initiated that contains two sub-studies. The General Survey involves monitoring reported data on ecological, epidemiological and sociological change and is intended to provide an overview of the general impact of the oil developments. The Individual Survey involves interviewing two populations (total N = 533) and is designed to examine individuals' reactions to change and variables associated with those reactions. The target population live in a conservation region where they are not likely to be directly affected by the oil developments. Baseline findings are presented from the General Survey concerning psychiatric morbidity, crime, divorce and suicide and from the Individual Survey that focus on the prevalence of medical and psychiatric symptoms and illnesses.

Deepwater oil port off Louisiana will go ahead

Deepwater oil port off Louisiana will go ahead

The Development of Milford Haven as a Major Port

Milford Haven has expanded as a port extremely rapidly over the last few years, largely as the result of a government decision to make it the major deep-water oil port in the country. Between 1959 and 1974 the amount of cargo handled rose from 200,000 to nearly sixty million tons. In this paper, which was presented at an Ordinary Meeting of the Institute held on 19 November 1975 in the City of London Polytechnic with the President in the Chair, the Harbourmaster describes this development, the problems it brought and how they were solved, and some of the lessons learned.

Temporal changes in the plankton of an industrialized estuary

The distribution and seasonal succession of plankton in Milford Haven (Pembrokeshire) is described, in an attempt to detect changes which may have occurred as a result of pollution following the establishment of a major oil port in the estuary. Several species have disappeared or declined since 1960, although replacement species have appeared, and the abundance of plankton in the Haven has not diminished. Changes which have occurred are no greater than might have been produced by natural environmental change and population dynamics.

Milford haven: Protest is in place

Milford Haven is now the site of the largest oil terminal in Britain and the second largest in Europe. It is also situated in an area of considerable biological interest and is in the Pembrokeshire National Park. Although it has a reputation for being a clean oil port, more could be done to prevent accidents.

SOME EFFECTS OF OIL POLLUTION IN MILFORD HAVEN, UNITED KINGDOM

ABSTRACT Research on the biological effects of oil pollution and detergent cleaning operations within the port of Milford Haven is described. Observations made on accidental spillages, experimental field spillages and laboratory investigations confirm that both salt marsh communities and rocky shores do normally recover from oil pollution accidents but that shore cleaning with emulsifiers can do serious damage if misused, although recovery follows. The effects of some new emulsifiers which are up to 1000X less toxic are discussed. Chronic pollution damage from refinery discharges has been identified both in Milford Haven and elsewhere, but it has been shown that these effects are eliminated if the outfall pipes are located offshore in locations of good dispersion and currents. Long term surveys reveal no widespread long term damage to the Fauna and Flora of Milford Haven attributable to the development of the oil port.

Un port industriel du Maroc : Mohammedia

An industrial port of Morocco : Mohammedia On the Moroccan Atlantic coast, situated 20 kilometers north of Casablanca, Mohammedia (the former Fédala) is an oil port and a large industrial center. In it resides a population of 60,000, and the city continues to grow. The well-sheltered bay of the port was improved early. Basins and special piers were constructed, and the port is equipped with two «sea lines» for the unloading of oil tankers. Petroleum products, in fact, constitute the principle port traffic which, in 1968, totaled 1,382,700 tons. The industrialization of Mohammedia commenced round 1930. The first industries built are linked with fishing and the crops grown in the surrounding region. The food industry, for many years of considerable importance, expanded until the crisis of 1953. Other industries were founded after the war : textile, metallurgy, chemical. After going through a period of depression between 1953 and 1960, the Fedalian industries were consolidated. The companies ICOMA, Ets GOURVENNEC and STRAFOR-MAROC are among the most representative of the new industrial quarter. Other companies have been founded since 1960 : Moroccan Aluminium Manufacturing and, among the largest of all, SAMIR, whose refinery provides petroleum products for the Moroccan economy. The worker population of Mohammedia approximates 3,600 persons, housed, in the main, in the vicinity of the various industrial plants. More and more, this industrial port is becoming a true annex of the large industrial area of Casablanca.

Pariñas-Chira Archaeology: A Preliminary Report

The following account of ancient remains in northern Peru is the result of a reconnaissance during May, 1941 from Cabo Blanco southward to Piura. The surface collections from various archaeological sites, now in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, have not yet been repaired and will be published subsequently. The present report, however, includes material from local collections, which tells the basic story.The region of which we write embraces two river valleys: Parinas and Chira (Fig. 44). The Parinas, according to a classification published by Kroeber, is a third-class river which reaches the sea a few miles north of the oil port of Talara. When I saw it, there was considerable flow of water, but automobiles could cross in places.