This letter to the editor was published on April 10, 10 days before the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon resulted in the catastrophic oil spill. The primary premise of the letter – that there has not been a significant spill in the last 50 years – is no longer true.

A Citizen Responds to Council’s “Top Ten Concerns”

By Frank M. Hughes

Over the past 150 years, our $13 trillion economy based on oil has evolved to form the essence of our affluent lifestyles. Even the most hard-core critic of offshore drilling needs fossil-fueled transportation to get to meetings, gatherings or must-attend protests.

Because five of the concerns cited at the Tampa Bay Regional Council Forum (See article in Bay Soundings Winter 2010) dealt with some aspect of an environmental drilling risk or aftermath of a possible incident, the TBRPC’s Top Ten Concerns about offshore Florida oil drilling can actually be reduced to two primary questions: (1) what is the environmental risk of drilling? and (2) is the risk acceptable?

First the background: Florida Energy Associates wants to risk billions of dollars to find and produce oil and gas from the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). An exploratory well can cost from $10 million to $30 million in shallow waters and $100 million or more if in deepwater with just a 40% probability of producing commercial hydrocarbons. Uncertainty blankets the entire process, but the federal government’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates for the Eastern GOM of 3.9 billion barrels of oil and 21.5 trillion cubic feet of gas are consistent with Florida Energy Associates estimates and adds credibility to their expected royalties of $1.5 to 2.25 billion for the state of Florida.

To say that our economy depends on oil is a serious understatement. The United States consumes 20 million barrels of oil per day and imports 60% of it. Transportation accounts for 70% of U.S. oil consumption and oil fuels 97% of U.S. transportation needs. Obviously, developing alternative energy sources is both technologically and economically astute, as are conservation and improving energy efficiency, but there is not a feasible alternative energy available for transportation or a technological ‘silver bullet’ on the horizon.
The $73 billion Florida tourism industry depends on people being transported from around the world to Florida. Automotive and aviation fuels have to be available and affordable to sustain that tourism industry. It is all about risk and the case can be made that there is a higher risk of shortages, supply interruptions from an unstable Middle East, and escalating prices than any environmental risk of a few oil platforms in the Eastern Gulf — picture pristine but empty beaches.

Let’s also discard those stories of barge and tanker collision spills when discussing the risks of operating oil drilling platforms; they have nothing in common with a fixed or anchored structure sucking oil into a secure pipeline. It’s enlightening that critics have to go to Australia to cite an oil drilling incident. The Gulf has over 50 years of drilling experience and there is not one major spill incident. There are about 4000 active drilling platforms and 33,000 miles of pipeline that have been subjected to Cat.5 hurricanes without a major production spill. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed 115 platforms, damaged 52 others along with 535 pipeline segments and caused a near shut-down of all Gulf offshore production.

Quoting the federal MMS, “Fortunately for all, due to prompt evacuation and shut-in preparations made by operating and service personnel, there was no loss of life and no major spills attributed to either storm.”

Since 1980 operators on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) have produced 4.7 billion barrels of oil and spilled only 0.001 percent of this oil, or 1 barrel (42 gallons) for every 81,000 barrels produced. In the last 25 years, there have been no spills greater than 1000 barrels from an OCS platform or drilling rig, according to the MMS.

Research by the University of South Florida College of Marine Science suggests that GOM currents are probably more favorable to Florida’s coastline than they are to Texas or Louisiana beaches. They have also determined that geology, wind and tides are the reasons Texas beaches look like brown sugar.

MMS concurs: “Natural seepage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico (unrelated to natural gas and oil industry operations) is far more extensive (than spills).” Researchers have estimated a natural seepage rate of about 120,000 barrels per year from one 23,000 square kilometers section off Louisiana. Their research also indicates that seepage represents about 60% of oil in the oceans – and that drilling actually reduces natural seepage.

When hypothetical spills didn’t convince Floridians that offshore oil drilling was a threat to its beaches, critics wondered if drilling platforms scattered over the vast 76 million acres of the Eastern Gulf could interfere with military training. That’s easily refuted by 64 exploratory wells already drilled off Pensacola’s Naval Air Station, Ft. Walton Beach and Panama City’s sugar-white beach without any known problems or complaints. A recent study by Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a non-partisan, non-profit organization partnered with retired military officers, concluded that military operations and oil drilling could safely coexist in the Gulf.

On the other hand, a genuine direct threat to national security is ignored by this opposition: that of assuring a reliable, adequate and affordable oil supply. Our dependence on imported oil means we must often deal with hostile regimes, while increasing prices undermine our capability to fund military operations.

Another concern suggests that all Western Gulf wells need to run dry before drilling goes east. Common practice has been for concurrent exploration and drilling anywhere and everywhere there is promise of hydrocarbons. There was also some skepticism about all western leases having been fully explored. A producer doesn’t usually leave evidence that he has tested an area and found it wanting, though he would report results to his exploration department and perhaps the MMS. Because of the high costs of drilling exploratory wells mentioned above, a producer is going to do extensive geological and geophysical testing before deciding to drill.

Regarding the infrastructure needs of the drilling operations and local land-use regulations, history suggests that coastal counties, cities and towns want whatever jobs and economic growth the offshore industry can create. MMS has stated that offshore drilling has “turned Louisiana’s relatively isolated coastal communities into significant contributors to the U.S. and world economies.”

I won’t say the science is in, but I can comfortably say that: In light of 50 years of safe and secure drilling experience supported by independent evidence and the undeniable benefits to the nation, the state and the region, drilling offshore Florida is the only rational course of action.

Even if the TBRPC doesn’t take a formal position on the issue, they could act as a clearinghouse to keep the discussion focused and moving forward. Visit www.mms.gov to examine the GOM offshore drilling experience, management and oversight that promise safe, secure, oil and gas exploration and production with low risk to the environment.

Frank M. Hughes is a retired financial controller and community college adjunct instructor who worked for 15 years in the petroleum industry.

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