The moaning was loud when President Barack Obama last week banned oil drilling offshore of the East Coast until 2017.
Politicians from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner to Republicans such as Congressman Eric Cantor and Gov. Bob McDonnell decried the move.
“It demonstrates a complete lack of confidence in (industry’s) ability to fix the problems experienced in the gulf spill, and no confidence in the ability of the U.S. government to better plan for and react to offshore emergencies,” McDonnell cited angrily in a statement. The governor has seen his grand plans to push with offshore drilling to help fund Virginia’s massive transportation problems squashed more than once.
Obama’s decision, of course, comes after the Deepwater Horizon disaster this past spring and summer which was the worst environmental predicament ever faced in the U.S. Some Virginians had hoped for a 2012 lease sale to exploit oil reserves that may or may not be out there.
Now comes the Wall Street Journal, not exactly an environmentalist rag, with a front page story that there has been a rash of close calls with offshore oil rigs over the past two years after decades of improving safety records. The Journal reviewed the records of the countries with the most experience with offshore drilling. The United Kingdom saw a 39 percent increase in serious incidents involving North Sea rigs. Australia likewise saw a spike including a near blowout such as the Deepwater Horizon situation. Norway say a 48 percent spike in incidents since 2008.
How come? The Journal says that there’s a mad rush to deep, offshore drilling because oil from shallow water areas is running out. Yet there aren’t enough experienced workers to handle the extra difficulties of drilling a mile or so down. The demand for profits and spotty enforcement also complicate deep water drilling.
Experts say that that disasters such as Deepwater Horizon are “low probability” but “high consequence.” “This accident was bound to happen,” says Nancy Leveson, an expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has studied the BP Deepwater mess.
The problem with people such as McDonnell and Cantor, and to some extent Warner, is that never seem to go beyond consulting with oil lobbyists when it comes to the dangers of drilling off Virginia. Or, they use data without much thought. McDonnell, for instance, has cited the supposed economic benefits from drilling according to an Old Dominion University report. But the author of that report says it was a quickie job and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Virginia has a lot to lose in the event of an offshore rig disaster. Other industries (real ones) affected include seafood, commercial shipping and the military, all of which have questioned the need for drilling when it isn’t even clear the reserves are out there.
At least Obama has the sense to slow down the parade to offshore drilling.
Peter Galuszka
