Oil companies want to build pipelines to carry oil from refineries to seaports for transport overseas. Environmentalists say these pipelines are dangerous for the environment and should not be built.

Discuss both these positions and give your own opinion.

One question that is causing discussion recently between the environmentalists and the oil companies has been the pipelines that these oil companies are aiming to construct in order to transport oil from refineries to seaports to be exported afterward, which they claim to be threatening to the environment.

The oil companies defend these constructions arguing that pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to transport oil and gas, being also competitive to the export market. Thus, it would not be possible to supply the whole world´s demand for fuel by using only rail or road. Another arguments are that the project is part of the economic growth of the country and having the infrastructure built will also help with emissions reductions, because there will be less trucks on the roads.

On the other hand, there are strong arguments from the environmentalists. Firstly, it has been proven that these pipelines frequently have leaks, consequently polluting rivers, killing plants and wildlife that harms the ecosystem. Moreover, if the land is disrupted it will not be the same even for 100 years and if there is a leak on this land it will take thousands of years until this land is productive again. The consequence would be having a whole town without proper water and with an area of unproductive land.

My conclusion is, although there are reasonable grounds to build the pipelines, the risks involved when is being transported if leaks are too high and outweigh the benefits of speed and cost, becoming unfeasible.