How I Intend to Practice as an Ethical Petroleum Engineer

How I Intend to Practice as an Ethical Petroleum Engineer As an engineer, I am obligated to take cognizance of the codes of conduct of my profession. However, as a human being, I am not driven by mere obligation, but by a desire to exercise virtuosity for the good of society. Voltaire, a French philosopher, wrote that, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Engineers, likewise, should bear a responsibility to promote the safety and welfare of society; to use their knowledge and serve a purpose that lies beyond the realms of their personal interests. The knowledge to impact society on a massive scale also calls for an outstanding practice of ethical and moral responsibility. Many ethical issues are brought into question in the petroleum industry with its tight deadlines and tremendous influence on society. Following an examination of the safety malpractices that led to the British Petroleum, or BP, oil spill in 2010 and the history of oil exploration in Nigeria, we will come to better understand what it means to achieve success as an ethical petroleum engineer. I intend to practice as an ethical engineer by always adhering to safety guidelines during operations, regardless of the costs at hand, and by further advancing ethical standards through corporate social responsibility in order to nurture a safer and better future for all.
Deepwater Horizon To understand the obstacles that petroleum engineers encounter, we will first investigate the BP oil spill, which had significant ramifications both to the environment and to local communities along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In April, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico experienced an explosion, resulting the worst fatal accident in marine operations in the petroleum industry. This incident caused 11 casualties of workers at the Macondo well site, while 17 others were injured. The oil spill also leaked roughly 400,000 gallons of crude oil into the gulf, which

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