By Dale Eisman
The Virginian-Pilot
WASHINGTON - The military wants oil and gas drillers to stay out of waters off the Virginia coast, where it says energy exploration would interfere with weapons tests and the training of thousands of service members each year.
The Pentagon told a key regulatory agency this month that a proposal to open the area to drilling also could endanger oil company employees and equipment.
"The Navy requires unencumbered access to the full expanse" of this area, and other service branches also use it extensively, Donald Schregardus , the service's deputy assistant secretary for environment, wrote in a letter to the federal Minerals Management Service.
With energy prices skyrocketing, the minerals agency wants to expand offshore oil and gas exploration. It has drafted a five-year plan to permit drilling both off Virgnia and in portions of the Gulf of Mexico in 2011. Schregardus' letter came in response to an Interior Department request for public comments on the proposal.
Schregardus wrote that the placement of drilling rigs and wells in the area would force the military to move its activities farther from the shoreline, increasing fuel costs and placing soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines farther from rescuers when they're involved in training accidents.
The Navy uses large portions of the wedge-shaped area east of the Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach to test-fire missiles, aircraft machine guns and the 5-inch guns on some of its surface ships. Navy pilots also practice aircraft carrier landings and takeoffs, and the service tests unmanned underwater craft in the area, Schregardus wrote.
The military's opposition to exploration is the second setback for drilling proponents in recent weeks. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine earlier this month rejected legislation to lift a longstanding state moratorium on offshore drilling.
"We certainly understand the importance of making sure the military training and weapons testing is done," said Dan Naatz, a vice president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a group that represents drilling companies.
Technological advances can minimize their "footprint" on the ocean's surface in areas under exploration, he said. A single platform now can service as many as 10 wells spread out across an area of the ocean floor, he said.
"There is a great likelihood that these things can co-exist," Naatz argued.
For state and federal legislators in Virginia, a state with a huge military presence, the drilling issue could force some uncomfortable choices between energy and defense interests.
The Navy's needs are "absolutely the top priority," said U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd District, who has supported opening waters off Virginia to exploration.
But Drake said service leaders should consider whether drilling platforms would make the Virginia training areas more realistic. The service regularly operates ships and planes in areas, including the Persian Gulf, with offshore structures, she said.
U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., who also has supported additional offshore exploration, issued a statement noting he had not proposed drilling in any particular area.
"My philosophy is driven simply by the need for the American marketplace to have an increased supply of natural gas to meet the growing demand," Warner said. It's up to the states involved and a variety of federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to collaborate on locations for exploration, he added.
• Reach Dale Eisman at (703) 913-9872 or icemandc@msn.com.
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Military opposes offshore
Navy gave up GITMO training facility to save money. They moved the training to FL where there are more restrictions off that coast than there was in Cuba. More money spent going further out off the coast so you do not interfere with the Right Whales, Sea Turtles and so on. They passed on the old Charleston Base for training. Now they want to discourage Drill off the Coast for training? Carry on Virginia drill and explore. Maybe the navy should look at GITMO again. This time to save training dollars.
VA Gas and Oil
Also being a former navy man, I agree with Joseph's comments...to a point. I don't see why the navy can't move it's operations a little farther offshore. The navy stated that it would cost additional fuel (thus dollars) for them to move elsewhere. Funny, I don't ever recall that being a concern when we would sail down to the Caribbean to accomplish the very same things. Its a big ocean out there and there is plenty of room. Also, studies in the Gulf of Mexico have shown that the existance of offshore drills is actually BENEFICIAL to the environment (small fish seek the shelter of the platforms and feed on barnicles growing on the platforms, thus attracting bigger fish to feed on them, thus attracting even bigger fish..and so on and so on...effectively yanking the feeding chain from many areas of the ocean to a more condensed spot, increasing the sport fishing that we so love and depend on for the local economy). The navy's job is to defend the country (to include supporting the economy) and helping it become energy self-sufficient. Let's all work together so we can one day tell the sheiks of the world that they can keep their oil (would keep the navy from having to defend them) and we hope that they choke on it. America already has a bad rep in the global arena for being fuel hogs. If we supplied ourselves, the world would just have to shut up, now wouldn't it.
Everything is for sale at the right price.
As long as we are dependent on oil as the motive force of our economic engine, we will eventually end up drilling everywhere that has oil; off the Virginia coast, the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, etc. We might not drill off Virginia or in ANWR this year but, if we don't reduce our dependency, the price of our addiction will force us to choose drilling over other options (Navy training, ecologic issues, etc.). Simple economics. I vote we use tax dollars to subsidize the development of realistic long-term alternative fuels. For the cost of Congressional pork in the current "emergency" supplemental, we could probably accomplish a lot of the necessary work to transition our vehicles and distribution system for use with ethanol and hydrogen.
Here is a solution
Being from Southern Louisiana I need to say this to all you Virginia people against drilling off your shore. If you don't want drilling here then you get no gas from Louisiana or Texas, how's that? It's ok to destroy our coast as long as you get your gas but don't touch your coast? I think not. Drill away my friends, drill away.
Let's Not Stop at Drilling
We need, as a country, to explore for oil in places other than the Gulf Coast. Let's open up our coast. As a retired Navy member, I know that the ships could find other places to practice, or go a bit further out. Besides, they do not need access to every square mile of water.
Also, let's set-up off-shore refining. Nobody wants a refinery in their backyard, so build it offshore. That is what we need more than oil exploration, we need refinery capacity.
Largest User of Oil in the World
The Department of Defense is the largest consumer of oil in the world. In 2004, the DOD used 144 Million barrels of oil. That equates to 395,000 barrels of oil per day. That is more oil than the country of Greece uses. The DOD needs to look into conserving fuel for the economic interests of this country. If you look into Naval history, that has been one of the primary purposes of the Navy. That is, to protect U.S. economic interests. The Navy protects the shipping channels around the world to protect the economy. If the government wants to control demand for oil, they need to look in their own backyard so to speak.
OIL
They will give the oil away and where is all the oil that came from the alaska pipe line?
Independence
We must strive to become fully independent from foreign oil and their price control by our own research and drilling - now more than ever. Alternative fuels is a good idea, one to be vigoursly pursued, but a long time away from reaching every little filling station in this great country as well as usable in every engine now on the road.
Lets swim with the oil!
What happens when the first of what could be many oil spills happen from the off shore rigs? We will have to spend lots of money that we do not have on cleaning it up. But let us not forget the long turn effect.
I say that we increase the amount of ethanol in our gas and not drill for oil in our area.
Let's Get Real
Obviously we need the gas! People are not going to change their ways...let's get the offshore drilling process underway!
Not In My Backyard!
The oil pumped out of the Virginia coastline would simply be sold on the world market to the highest bidder anyways and would have NO IMPACT on the global price of oil or gasoline here at home. Therefore we should keep it in reserve until the rest of the world pumps all of its crude oil out first.