Offshore Oil Drilling: Advantages, Challenges, and Impact

Introduction

The concept of offshore drilling centers on the extraction of natural resources such as oil, gas, or petroleum from beneath the water in either continental shelves or demarcated water boundaries near ports. Offshore drilling can also be conducted in lakes, rivers, and tributaries. In recent times, however, most offshore drilling has focused on a single resource — oil — extracted primarily from shoreline seas and oceans.

The heightened demand for oil within industrialized nations like the United States has provoked debates about the importance and impact of offshore oil drilling as an alternative to importing oil from Middle Eastern states such as Saudi Arabia. This has led scientists and ecologists to argue extensively about the overall pros and cons of offshore drilling — not only for the environment, but also for people and the economy. This paper examines the positives and negatives of offshore oil drilling within the context of current demand and gas prices in the United States.

Before proceeding, several important facts must be established. First, there is no reliable data on the actual level of oil reserves present along the shores of the United States. Second, any offshore drilling initiated today would not produce accessible oil for at least ten years. Third, even if oil were extracted in large quantities, its impact on the economy would not be substantially felt before at least 2030. Fourth, the overall decrease in gas prices that consumers might experience would amount to roughly four or five cents per gallon. Bearing these facts in mind — as established by economists and scientists — the ecological argument cannot go unnoticed. Offshore oil rigs could potentially cause more environmental damage than they generate economic benefit, and may drain more finances than they return. The issue of global warming would also be further exacerbated by offshore drilling, the remediation costs of which alone could strain any economy (Weibe, 2008). This paper analyzes both the advantages and challenges of offshore drilling and draws interpretations based on the facts presented.

Advantages of Offshore Oil Drilling

The main advantage that politicians and economists within the United States attempt to promote is that gas prices will drop once domestically drilled oil becomes available on the market. The reasoning is that when oil companies begin investing in domestic oil production, the overall demand-supply chain will benefit the economy and relieve pressure on gas producers. Many strategists argue that the mere initiation of drilling could cause gas prices on the stock market to fall and investment in oil to increase — even before any oil is actually produced.

While the logic of supply-and-demand theory does apply in principle, a critical factor is being overlooked: this is not a standard demand-supply scenario because actual supply will not reach parity for at least a decade. This means that any anticipated decrease in gas prices will not occur in the near future if the alternative supply of oil cannot be fulfilled within ten years. The argument about decreasing prices is therefore premature at best (Daniels, 2008).

A second commonly cited advantage is the rise in employment opportunities. Job creation would be expected to boost per capita income and improve the overall standard of living and educational opportunities within communities. However, it cannot be ignored that jobs created by the offshore drilling industry would come with significant occupational health risks and safety concerns in a hazardous work environment (Daniels, 2008). Moreover, offshore drilling has a well-documented negative effect on tourism. A considerable decline in tourism activity would likely reduce jobs in that industry, potentially canceling out whatever employment gains the oil rigging sector created (Daniels, 2008).

Challenges and Disadvantages

All manned work structures for oil rigs must be constructed above sea level. This means that even before any benefit from oil production is realized, the economy already incurs heavy construction costs. Even if the U.S. government were to use floating platforms anchored to the shore rather than traditional fixed structures, the costs would be significant. Maintaining floating platforms and implementing the security and safety measures needed to counteract the effects of waves would be extremely expensive (Weibe, 2008). Even experimental methods — such as pumping oil from the seabed to a submerged platform and then up to the surface — would require enormous amounts of energy. Given the current energy crisis and shortage of resources, this represents a substantial investment with little guarantee of meaningful returns, though it could allow for a wider range of seabed exploration (Daniels, 2008).

One of the greatest concerns surrounding offshore oil drilling is the potential for ecological disasters stemming from oil spills or improper waste disposal in the sea or air. Internal spills — those occurring within the facility itself — can cause fires and result in permanent damage to the structure. External spills from pipelines or transport vessels can cause severe environmental damage to ocean life and, in turn, affect human health as well.

Waste disposal and emissions into both the sea and the atmosphere are also major concerns for environmentalists, as they contribute to declining sea life quality and to global warming. Additionally, excess water produced during oil excavation must be discharged back into the ocean. This water is not naturally pure — it contains remnants of oil particles and other chemicals that can disrupt the chemistry of ocean water. Furthermore, the removal or relocation of an oil platform after its reserves are depleted is extremely costly. To avoid these costs, most oil-producing countries simply abandon the site, which, if adopted in the United States, could create additional problems for the movement of ships and other naval vessels (Weibe, 2008).

Conclusion: Alternative Fuels as the Better Path Forward

What this focus on offshore oil drilling will ultimately do, in my opinion, is divert attention away from the development of alternative and more environmentally friendly fuels. Many scientists assert that the world's oil resources will peak within a decade or so, after which a severe shortage will drive prices to even greater heights. If that projection is accurate, then it is far more important to prepare for a shortage by developing alternative fuels as a backup. Had alternative fuel development — rather than offshore oil drilling — been the policy priority, the steady rise in gasoline prices would have been less severe, and environment-friendly alternatives would already be more accessible (Stolberg, 2008).

References

Daniels, B. Offshore Drilling: Pros and Cons. 2008.

Gertz, E. Can Offshore Drilling Really Make the U.S. Oil Independent? Scientific American. 2008.

Gross, D. Drilling for Answers: Will we find the oil we need offshore? Newsweek, 18 June 2008.

Parsley, J. Wellington chamber weighs pros, cons of offshore drilling. South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 2008.

Stern, M. Ecological Concerns about US Offshore Oil Drilling. Global Ecology. 2008.

Stolberg, S. G. Offshore drilling won't be easy sell: Bush prods Congress to open U.S. waters to oil exploration, but even if it happens, it's no quick fix. New York Times, 19 June 2008.

Weibe, W. A. V. Debate over Offshore Drilling. CBS News. 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.