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As means of enhancing the student experience on the MSc Oil and Gas Management programme, Jennifer Ting (programme director – oil & gas management programmes) recently organised a special event that culminated in a private screening at the Greenwich Picturehouse. The aim of the event was both to assist the students to extend their networking opportunities and also to shed light on some of the recent controversial developments in the oil and gas industry that are having an impact on customers and the physical environment.
We were treated to a special exclusive showing of two documentary movies; the first, the award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary ‘Gasland’ (2010). The filmmaker Josh Fox embarks on a cross-country odyssey exposing the controversial and unconventional method of exploration called ‘hydraulic fracturing’ or ‘fracking’ for the large reserves of shale gas around the North American Midwest states. This process involves pumping million of gallons of water into the earth to crack open the rock and release the shale gas found mainly around the North American Midwest states. The aim of these activities is to exploit these new gas reserves which promise to have huge economic potential and which could offer the solution to the challenges of US energy policy and security.
The film explored the people and the places that have been affected and continue to be affected by hydraulic fracturing policy which it is believed will have an adverse effect on the livelihoods and habitats of humans, animals and vegetation alike by affecting the quality and supply of the lifeblood of existence – namely water. It is claimed, by some, that these unconventional methods of extracting shale gas has for a long time been affecting the water supplies of the entire eastern region and some Midwestern states of the USA.
The second documentary ‘Crude Awakening’ (2006), traces the evolution and growth of the oil industry as well as its diversification and puts forward the argument that the era of cheap oil has gone. Exploration and production activities have quadrupled in the past 100 year, and thus, eventually, the crude oil will run out. The movie highlights the environmental and sustainability issues and also points out the future direction the industry is shaping towards, the possible challenges that lie ahead and the economic and social impact this could have on all societies of the modern era.
There was positive and encouraging feedback from students who attended both screenings and it is envisaged that in the future, similar activities will be organised, which could, perhaps, results in a site visit to one of the oil refineries or gas terminals in the UK.
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