Seasick: The Turbulent Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas on Ocean Biodiversity and Coastal Livelihoods

The document details how offshore oil and gas activities—from exploration to decommissioning—damage marine ecosystems and coastal communities, highlighting specific risks like noise pollution, chemical contamination, and invasive species across various global hotspots.

• Offshore oil and gas production is seeing significant growth, with nearly 29 percent of all production extracted offshore as of early 2025, and offshore wells accounting for 85 percent of new global discoveries in 2024.
• The exploration phase introduces noise pollution from airgun blasts and sonar that can be fatal to dolphins and whales by disrupting echolocation and can increase the mortality of zooplankton.
• Production activities cause chemical contamination through wastewater release, which can lead to ecosystem collapse, and light and noise pollution from rigs that disturb marine wildlife and food webs.
• Transportation of offshore resources increases the risk of oil spills and introduces routine discharges of hydrocarbons and toxic metals that bioaccumulate in marine life. The expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping specifically increases ecological disruption risks.
• Improper decommissioning of infrastructure allows oil and gas platforms to act as 'stepping stones' for invasive species, such as sun corals, which reduce reef species diversity.
• In the Niger Delta, decades of oil spills and aging infrastructure have decimated local fisheries and contaminated freshwater supplies, impacting food security and cultural traditions for the local population.

APA

Campos, B., & Fenlock, L. (n.d.). Seasick: The Turbulent Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas on Ocean Biodiversity and Coastal Livelihoods. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Seasick.pdf

Chicago

Campos, Bruna, and Lindsay Fenlock. Seasick: The Turbulent Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas on Ocean Biodiversity and Coastal Livelihoods. Center for International Environmental Law, n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Seasick.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Campos |first1=Bruna |last2=Fenlock |first2=Lindsay |title=Seasick: The Turbulent Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas on Ocean Biodiversity and Coastal Livelihoods |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Seasick.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{camposndseasick, author = {Campos, Bruna and Fenlock, Lindsay}, title = {{Seasick: The Turbulent Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas on Ocean Biodiversity and Coastal Livelihoods}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Seasick.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }