Drilling for oil may be necessary to sustain our way of life. However, the presence of the oil industry has significant social and environmental impacts, both from accidents and from routine activities such as seismic exploration, drilling and the generation of polluting wastes. On one hand Oil provides a crucial energy and material source. It is needed to produce fuel, plastics, paints and drugs which society is dependent on. Without these products our lives would be very different and we currently do not have suitable substitutes for the production of them. On the other hand, Oil extraction is expensive and frequently environmentally damaging. The exploration and extraction of oil disturbs the surrounding marine environment. Extraction may involve dredging which stirs up the sea bed killing the sea plants that marine creatures require to survive
