Offshore oil drilling not well thought out

Resuming offshore oil exploration could map out a treacherous environmental future for the southern coast, where a massive oil spill nearly 40 years ago still lingers closely in the minds of Californians, according to a state assemblyman opposed to President Bush’s recent lift of a national oil drilling moratorium.

Members of the assembly floor in Sacramento will have the chance next month to echo the same concerns when voting to adopt Assembly Joint Resolution 51 (AJR 51), legislation stating that lawmakers are against the possibility of new oil drilling endeavors off California’s vulnerable coast.

Introduced by Pedro Nava, representative for the 35th Assembly District of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, AJR 51 also seeks continuation of the federal moratorium that has been renewed by Congress for 27 consecutive years.

“I think that the majority of the Assembly and the Senate understand you don’t want to risk the threat to the coastline for oil exploration that is speculative at best and environmentally dangerous,” Nava said.

Some of that speculation is rooted in the idea that tapping into oil resources off the United States coast will reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, thus bringing down the skyrocketed costs of gasoline that have dictated where, when and why people drive.

In Ventura County, “skyrocketed” could also be the biggest understatement this side of the fuel pump: According to Web site GasBuddy.com, the lowest gasoline price in Ventura County this week was $4.26 per gallon in Oxnard.

There won’t be any immediate relief in sight with the moratorium lift; according to Nava, if new offshore explorations are instituted, pump prices won’t be cheaper until at least 2030, by which time the Pacific Ocean could be rife with oil derricks.

“What the president has done is essentially capitalize on what everyone agrees are very high prices at the gas pump,” he said. “It is a negligible amount.”

Not insignificant to the assemblyman is the potential to repeat an American disaster so catastrophic it rivaled headlines on the Vietnam War. Soon approaching its 40th anniversary, the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill is viewed by some to be the major catalyst for the modern environmental movement.

The Jan. 28, 1969 event was an unmitigated offshore disaster. Three million gallons of crude oil spilled into the sea — a blowout from a platform owned by the former Union Oil company — and reached the shore, killing sea life and necessitating a cleanup that warranted a visit to the area from then-President Richard Nixon.

Since then, it can be argued that any oil drilling — onshore or off — is hazardous to the environment.

“There’s no question this entire discussion is colored by” the 1969 oil spill, said Tupper Hull, a spokesman for Western States Petroleum, which has a Ventura division. “The industry changed its approach; it learned a tremendous amount of what its responsibility is in a marine environment.”

Those changes have had a profound effect on monitoring and safety within the offshore oil industry. Hull, citing the Minerals Management Service, said 850 barrels of oil have been accounted as spilled in federal waters since 1970, compared to 3 million just from one incident.

Advancements in equipment and technology also greatly reduce the risk of another catastrophe to that degree, he said.

“Regardless of the technology, we’re reduced to men and women in hazmat suits on the beach,” Nava said. “It’s always reduced to that.”

Airborne pollutants are also a concern. There are oil platforms off Ventura County exempt from the moratorium because they were already in operation beforehand. But according to Mike Villegas, executive director of the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, they aren’t exempt from strict monitoring guidelines in effect for local oil and gas companies like Venoco and DCOR.

On average, he said, one oil rig produces 5 tons per year of smog-forming emissions, about the same as a small gas station.

Then there is the issue of onshore versus offshore drilling. According to Nava, there are 47.5 million acres of onshore property leased by gas companies for drilling. Only 13 million acres are in use.

“The argument that California must drill offshore with all of the risks is a fiction,” Nava said, “given the fact the oil companies aren’t doing onshore exploration even though they can.”

In the end, with soaring gas prices at every pump in the nation, it may come down to a matter of supply and demand.

“It’s clear that Americans and Californians as well are beginning to understand that the ‘Just Say No’ energy policy we’ve pursued in this country hasn’t served consumers very well,” Hull said. “Supply apparently does matter in a market where demand continues to grow.

“I think the change will have to come from within.”

It may come from the government level next month. Out of the 80 members in the state assembly, AJR 51 will need 41 votes in favor to move from the floor to the state senate, Nava said.