Comment & Debate
David Ivanovich and Kristen Hays. “Offshore drilling safer, but small spills routine.” Houston Chronicle. July 28, 2008: “WASHINGTON — When a Union Oil Co. well six miles off the California coast blew out in January 1969, an estimated 80,000 barrels of crude spewed into the Santa Barbara Channel — fouling beaches and marring the offshore industry’s reputation.
With the nation now debating whether to open more areas offshore to oil and gas drilling, the oil industry can rightly claim it has avoided a repeat of that catastrophe, even as offshore activity has ballooned.
But offshore operators continue to spill thousands of barrels of oil, fuel and chemicals into federal waters each year, government records show.
“This is not a zero-risk proposition,” said John Rogers Smith, an associate professor of petroleum engineering at Louisiana State University.
Offshore operators have had 40 spills greater than 1,000 barrels since 1964, including 13 in the last 10 years, according to data from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which oversees exploration and production in federal waters.
Despite the industry’s technological improvements and safety planning, offshore operators have struggled to cope with the hurricanes that blow through the Gulf of Mexico. Seven of the 13 recent larger spills were hurricane related.”
“Why offshore drilling is not the answer.” Not the Answer. January 20, 2010: “Lastly, when crude oil is being pumped through underwater pipelines, then there is the need for large storage tanks on land to hold this oil. I am pretty sure most Floridians would not want one of these huge storage facilities in their backyard. Once the heavy crude oil is stored onshore, what happens next? A refinery? A deep water port facility to load the crude oil onto tankers for transport to existing refineries? Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor are the only two deep water ports on the gulf coast of Florida. The storage and transfer of crude oil in either of these bays would turn them into a tar pit when (not if) accidents occur.”
“Offshore Drilling is a Dirty Business.” Sierra Club. Opposing Views.com: “Contrary to claims by the oil industry, there is no safe way to drill our coasts. Where there is drilling, there are oil spills. Each year U.S. drilling operations send an average of 880,000 gallons of oil into the ocean. Oil is toxic for most fish and other marine species. According to the National Academy of Sciences, cleanup methods can only remove a small fraction of oil spilled in marine waters. Even a medium sized spill can be a major economic disaster in coastal areas dependent on tourism or fishing as a major economic drive”