The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Two bills to endorse offshore drilling along Virginia’s coast as a way to raise money for state transportation projects were defeated today on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources.
If the federal government were to lift a moratorium in new offshore drilling, the two state measures both proposed that part of the state’s royalties or fees from the drilling be used for transportation projects.
A bill proposed by Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, and a second measure were combined by the committee and defeated in an 8-5 party line vote. Republicans supported it and Democrats opposed.
Some Democrats and environmental activists said they had concerns about the impact of the proposed drilling on marine life. Wagner disagreed.
“If it’s a hazard as some would suggest, they forgot to tell the fish,” Wagner said, arguing that other drilling operations have not harmed aquatic life.
Wagner said he will continue to push the concept in future legislative sessions.
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Wildhorses - read your own quote
It says that platforms were destroyed, not that oil was released into the gulf.
There are mechanisms in place to prevent widespread release of oil from rigs into the ocean.
I do concede that there was probably some release of oil and other contaminants into the water following the destruction of the rigs. My guess (unsubstantiated as it is) would be that the amount of contamination from the destroyed rigs is insignificant as it wasn't reported. Not like the reports of all sorts of contamination released from shore-based facilities.
Let's look for cleaner energy
Quote from a MMS report:
“The overall damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has shown them to be the greatest
natural disasters to oil and gas development in the history of the Gulf of Mexico,” MMS
Regional Director Chris Oynes said. He noted, “Just last year, in the devastating Hurricane Ivan,
there were seven platforms destroyed, compared with the 115 platforms destroyed in Katrina and
Rita.”
I'm not an oil expert but usually platforms are offshore?
AM, no, you don't
The ad hominem fallacy is when you reject an argument because of by whom it is made, which is exactly what you did. You have not addressed the arguments made in the article. There are no 68 million idle oil lease acres.
The leases are made in blocks, which include areas the oil company has no expectation for finding petroleum as well as areas that look promising. The leases are made before any advanced exploration has been made. Many contain no recoverable petroleum, but the lessee does not know that until it has the lease. Those useless acres are considered idle. Even if there are exploitable pockets, they may have to wait until a drilling rig is available, many are booked years in advance. Until they are actively drilled, they are regarded as idle. After the oil is extracted, they are again considered idle until the lease expires.
As I pointed out before, this would be like considering a wheat field idle except for the days when the wheat is being harvested.
How much of our coastline...
is actually available to drill? Apparently 72% of Virginia's offshore drilling zone is within the U.S. Navy's Virginia Capes Operating Area, the principal training area for air, surface and submarine units. In the sake of national security, is it wise for us to impose on that training area that is vital to the Armed Forces? Let's make the oil companies use their record profits to utilize the 68 million acres onshore and offshore that are being leased by big oil companies, but not currently used to produce energy before we risk our coastline for what amounts to a drop in the bucket.
Don, I know the definition
and I am not attacking the man, I am attacking your assertion as this as an article(sorry that you are unable to realize or ackowledge that). An editorial is an opinion piece. An editorial written by the CEO of a trade group does not constitute proof. You are attempting to cite as a 3rd party endorsement something that does not qualify as such. How am I attacking the man and not your argument again? And by the way, I read the article, and it reads as spin for the industry, which again, explains why it is in the editorial section. Additionally, it is in API's interest to receive as much land for the industry as it possibly could, so he is not an objective voice. What you are citing is an article written by a fox asserting that the henhouse is indeed safe. You sir, need to look up the definition of an ad hominem attack. if we do drill for oil off the coast, where would that oil go? In storage spaces. You can't dis
Wild Horses, spills not from drilling
The oil spills after Katrina were from onshore storage facilities, not from producing wells. The same thing would happen if South Norfolk was flooded today. They had nothing to do with offshore production.
There has not been a major spill from a US offshore well since the late 60's when a Chevron well was destroyed by a hurricane. Even then, the result was a result of criminal negligence, and those responsible were convicted. Since the 50's, US offshore wells have been required to have redundant "storm chokes" which are failsafe valves which are closed by the well's own pressure if the top of the well is carried away. In the Chevron spill, the chokes were falsely documented to have been installed but were absent.
Drilling offshore and bringing the product to shore by pipeline is actually far less likely to result in a spill than importing oil by ship, which we do now.
re: Here is one source-google for more
I have and your numbers are miniscule [on the grander scale]. The largest spill in your link was 3,264 barrels of oil spilled after Katrina. Natural seeps in the Gulf are around 2.53 MILLION barrels of oil yearly. Now point me to the beaches and other natural impacts from those? Most of the spills you will see [from Katrina] are land-based due to on-shore tank spills, not from sea-going rigs
I have personally never said there were no spills after Katrina, I have said there was no environmental impact and the rigs have a more positive impact on the environment than negative.
Your facts do not support your rants...
Also, it takes years to bring facilities on-line so impact on gas prices are YEARS away if oil was drilled for in the Atlantic.
Using your line of logic, no one should attend college because it takes years to get a degr
AM, look up "ad hominem"
So, you think it makes sense to reject a factual argument based simply upon who makes it? Nearly all the real experts on oil production are, by definition, involved in the industry. The article explains, in detail, what goes into the figures used to claim the oil leases are "idle." The arguments are clear and convincing and, if you are willing to do the work, easy to check out. You don't get to dismiss them just because they are made by someone on the other side of the argument.
Included in those "idle" leases are those which are still being explored, in the process of being developed, explored and found not to be commercially viable at current prices or even those which have been drained but are still under lease. All those "idle" leases aren't really idle at all, any more than wheat field is idle except for those days when the wheat is being harvested.
Your ad hominem argument not withstanding, th
Don
an editorial from the WSJ written by the president and ceo of a trade association that (from their website) "represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry" does not constitute proof. Nice try.
Here is one source-google for more
A Material Management preliminary report:
www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2006/press0501.htm
gives a assessment of pipelines damaged and platforms destroyed from both Katrina and Rita and mentions that as the immediate concern was other issues (such as saving humans) that hindered their assessment.
check skywarn blog for a picture
Please stop spreading misinformation that there were no spills because of Katrina and that off shore drilling is risk-free. Also, it takes years to bring facilities on-line so impact on gas prices are YEARS away if oil was drilled for in the Atlantic.
We need all the Facts to make good decisions, not talking points.