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India is a very populated country. It need a large amount of resources for it citizens. Oil is an important resource which is required for a number of things like automobiles, industries etc. Oil extraction is done by Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC). ONGC had many projects across the globe, but the project under study here is Bangladesh.
What are the environmental impacts of this resource extraction?
Open pits, ponds, and lagoons can contain wastewater, organic chemicals, petroleum hydrocarbons, surfactants and other substances which compromise the safety of our water. Pipeline explosions and wells (even if properly drilled) can cause drinking water problems by cross-contaminating aquifers. Development of gas wells may even require releases of methane and myriad toxic gases into the atmosphere.
Methane, the main component in natural gas, is up to 84 times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, trapping heat more effectively and intensifying global warming. Preventable leaks and faulty infrastructure in natural gas production are so common that they contribute significantly to methane pollution in and around wild lands.
Who benefits from this resource extraction? Who is disadvantaged? How is this connected to colonization?
Both of the countries can be benefitted by this joint venture of oil and natural gas exploration from Bengal Basin. Bangladesh being a small country is having a surplus oil and natural gas resource but being an underdeveloped country with poor infrastructure cannot exploit its resources to its full potential. But India being a developed neighbouring country can utilize its modern and scientific technology and can deploy state of the art machinery to explore the untapped oil and natural gas resources of Bangladesh. Being a huge populous country, India can utilize this surplus oil and natural gas resources from Bangladesh at a cheaper rate. The geographical proximity between these two countries is another advantage. Besides, India being the one of the largest democracies of the world, it has strong political leadership which is beneficial to maintain a strong bond of friendship between the two countries. Thus, this bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh can help in minimizing the aggression of colonization by the western countries.
