US: offshore drilling in the news

COMMENT: Offshore drilling in the US is in the headlines these days. It is in part a consequence of initiatives taken in the final months of the Bush administration, and much of it is what's happening today in US energy politics, with the Obama administration and the new makeup of Congress and the Senate. Much of it has to do with complex US politicking whereby deals on all sorts of fronts get wrapped up in major bills. It's too much for my wee brain.

But, what we're seeing right now are offshore drilling debates on all of America's coasts - Alaska, California, the Gulf of Mexico, North Carolina. Here's a sampler of news items.

The headline of the California article tells all - Gov. Schwarzenegger has been a stalwart opponent of offshore drilling, but this article says he may be ready to relent on that opposition to get the necessary political support to help resolve the state's financial crisis.

It may be worth noting now, that Schwarzenegger's term as governor ends at the end of 2010. Potential candidates are emerging now. The last article copied in this email is "A Guide to the Governor’s Race, One Year Before the Primary". The columnist suggests that the conventional wisdom says it'll be are former Governor Jerry Brown, now 71, for the Democrats, and Meg Whitman, described as "the billionaire ex-CEO of eBay," as the Republican candidate. The column ends with the note that conventional wisdom is always wrong.

Schwarzenegger's progressive and persuasive leadership on many environmental issues will be missed, although if he caves on offshore drilling now, that leadership will be missed long before he leaves the office.

California Budget Deal May Mean New Offshore Oil Drilling
Interior Plans Offshore Drilling Despite Questions (Gulf)
Offshore drilling debate resurfaces (North Carolina)
A Guide to the Governor’s Race, One Year Before the Primary

California Budget Deal May Mean New Offshore Oil Drilling

Proposed deal would allow first new offshore oil leases in 40 years

The same state budget crisis that could shutter 220 of California's state parks and beaches, may also open the door for the first new offshore oil leases in state waters in forty years. That is, if a proposal floated in the closed-door state budget negotiations on Thursday wins approval from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If approved, the deal would pave the way for the first offshore oil leases in California state waters since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and the California Sanctuary Act. In so doing, it would effectively bypass the current regulatory process for formalizing the leases.

"It would be a complete corruption of the safeguards that Californians have demanded in order to protect the coastlines from oil development," said State Assemblymember Pedro Nava, via telephone on Thursday afternoon.

Nava, who represents California's 35 District (Santa Barbara), said the proposal was floated today during the budget negotiations currently underway in Sacramento between Gov. Schwarzenegger and the top two leaders in each party, otherwise known as "The Big Five".

Nava said he was not sure if it was Democrats or Republicans brought the proposal to the table, but that the governor has the power and the authority to out of hand reject the proposal. "The governor can say no," he said.

Assemblymember Nava said that the Governor has established his environmental credentials, but "if he allows the first new lease in state waters, that will be the only thing he will be remembered forŠ that will be his legacy."

In January, California regulators rejected a compromise that would have closed four offshore oil platforms and allowed new drilling in state waters for the first time in forty years.

The California State Lands has the power to approve any new leases in the state. When the proposal was evaluated it was found to be unenforceable and rejected in a 2-1 vote.

http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/07/16/california-budget-deal-may-mean-new-offshore-oil-drilling/

Interior Plans Offshore Drilling Despite Questions

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is moving ahead with an oil lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico next month despite legal questions about whether the proposal and other offshore drilling plans initially drawn up under President George W. Bush went through a full environmental review.

The decision comes three months after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington blocked lease sales in Alaska, saying the Bush administration didn't properly study the environmental consequences. The Alaska drilling was part of a five-year plan to expand drilling around the country, including in the Gulf. The court didn't say whether its ruling also applied to Gulf drilling, but many experts watching the case said they believed the decision could cover the entire program, not just the Alaska portion.

Interior Department spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said the agency has sought clarification from the courts. But after not getting further guidance, Secretary Ken Salazar decided to move ahead, Barkoff said.

"We're planning as if it doesn't affect the Gulf, but if the court provides direction otherwise, we will follow it," she said.

The sale would pave the way for drilling in some 18 million acres in the western Gulf near Texas. The area comes as close as nine miles from shore in some parts and stretches as far as 250 miles out in places.

The department's Minerals Management Service, which conducts lease sales, estimates the area could yield up to 423 million barrels of oil and up to 2.64 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The U.S. uses about 7.5 billion barrels of oil per year, so the estimated oil production is the equivalent of a roughly three-week supply. The nation uses about 23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year, so the estimated gas production amounts to nearly six weeks of consumption.

Salazar's decision to proceed comes amid Republican criticism that the Obama administration isn't moving fast enough to open up new areas to drilling.

"Secretary Salazar believes that it is important to move forward with President Obama's comprehensive energy agenda for the country," Barkoff said.

The lease sale is planned for Aug. 19 at a hotel in downtown New Orleans.

http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/us/2009/07/17/D99GANO80_us_offshore_drilling/

Offshore drilling debate resurfaces

Offshore drilling for oil and natural gas has returned to mainstream debate in North Carolina. The likeliest target is a federal lease area 30-40 miles off the Cape Hatteras coast. Forty miles out, the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current at the edge of the Sargasso Sea which is home to loggerhead sea turtles and fertile ground for untold numbers of micro-organisms, other marine life and fish.

Many of the pros and cons of the issue will be vetted by the Offshore Energy Exploration Subcommittee during a daylong public hearing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) on July 28.

Kure Beach mayor, Mac Montgomery is the only elected official on the panel, which was assembled earlier this year, comprised of university professors, conservationists and economists co-chaired by former UNCW chancellor, Dr. James Leutze, and chief ocean scientist of the Environmental Defense Fund, Dr. Doug Rader.

"Ecologically it's one of the richest areas on the Atlantic coast," Montgomery said, known for its fish habitat prized by recreational fishermen and commercial fishermen.

"A lot of studies have been presented to us by UNCW and by Duke on deep sea coral found in this area."

Though the proposed drill sites are literally out of sight, whatever petroleum or natural gas resources are mined offshore need to be brought onshore to be refined or distributed via pipeline, tankers and trucks.

"When you start getting into the effects on inland waters, not so much from drilling, but from the infrastructure that's going to go on, the question then becomes, we're not only talking about what's going on the well site but then everything that goes with it. That's the conservation point of view," Montgomery said. His committee peers seem to be leaning toward that side of the debate.

From an economic standpoint, the state has little to gain from revenue leases beyond a 12-mile point that are controlled by the federal government.

"If North Carolina hoped to reap any benefit from this financially then what you'd have to do is change the federal law as far as the distribution of leases," he said.

Numbers being tossed around include the annual $15 billion dollar industry represented by the coastal counties versus a projected $24 billion that Mineral Management Services estimates that the state might earn from shared revenues over a 30-40 year period. From the point of exploration, it's expected to take approximately seven to 10 years to bring the product to market.

As a beach mayor, one of Montgomery's concerns is the effect of offshore drilling on the coast, not only from a tourism point of view, but recreational and commercial fishing.

"If you built a port, if you brought in pipeline, how's it going to affect the communities it's brought into. Is Wilmington ready to accept pipeline, or are we in a position to accept more tankers, or is Morehead City? Or like the coast of Louisiana, are we ready to have pipeline laid across a coastal area to get to an interior refinery? Those are a lot of issues that really need to be explored before we say, 'Yes, we're in favor of it.'"

If there were oil down here, Montgomery wonders where it would be brought in Š across Holden Beach, Kure Beach, Wrightsville Beach? He said, "What're the implications for the communities when this happens? Is there a financial benefit for us? Does it outweigh the cost? Here Š it affects one of the richest, most unspoiled coasts left in the United States that due to a lot of regulations, we have not let it become polluted."

In addition to studying petroleum and natural gas exploration and development, the committee will also examine the potential impacts of alternative offshore energy projects on the nation's energy supply, including energy generated from wind, waves, ocean currents, the sun and hydrogen production.

The Offshore Energy Exploration Subcommittee will meet at UNCW on Tuesday, July 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Computer Information Systems Building, Classroom 1008. A series of experts will discuss alternative energy options from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. after which a public comments session will be held.

http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=4615&iid=175&sud=30

A Guide to the Governor’s Race, One Year Before the Primary

And They're Off!

One glance at the madness in Sacramento, where Arnold Schwarzenegger is leading a political parade to plunge California into the abyss, is enough to make every sane person wonder why anyone would want to be governor.

A year out from the 2010 primary elections, however, a quintet of eager applicants for the job already is merrily on task, raising millions, decrying the mess, and explaining why everything will be better on his or her watch. As the contestants moved into the first turn with the first deadline for fundraising reports this week, here’s a handicappers’ guide to the race.

The Never-Minds: Most of the political window shoppers whose intentions were unknown earlier have packed it in.

For Democrats, much uncertainty lifted when L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa withdrew last week; once seen as a strong player, hizzoner failed his own political gut check after a string of stumbles, including an underwhelming reelection, a massive city deficit, and a couple of what-was-he-thinking affairs with TV reporters.

His withdrawal followed a recent statement of disinterest in running by Dianne Feinstein, acknowledging what everyone else already knew: It makes no sense to leave the comfort of an influential U.S. Senate seat for an impossible job amid the, um, delights of Sacramento life.

A few loyal fans are still puffing on well-cooled embers of speculation on behalf of Santa Barbara favorite Jack O’Connell, but he hasn’t exactly provided a world-class exhibition of fire-in-the-belly.

On the Republican side, Ventura County Supervisor Peter Foy still is playing Hamlet. Unknown statewide, Foy’s pro-life stance and right-wing positions on other social issues contrast with what he calls the “squishy” views of the rest of the GOP field, giving him entrée to the party’s sizeable cultural-conservative bloc.

The Democratic Duo: A generational mano-a-mano matchup pits Attorney General and former everything Jerry Brown, 71, against Gavin Newsom, the 41-year-old San Francisco mayor and gay-marriage guru. A new statewide survey, taken by Sacramento pollster Jim Moore after Villaraigosa’s withdrawal, gives Brown a 46-26 percent lead; he runs ahead of Newsom everywhere but the Bay Area.

Newsom’s high-powered handlers spin the race as a reprise of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, casting their guy as the Obama-like avatar of new politics with Brown in the role of Hillary, the remaindered establishment Democrat. The problem with trying to portray Jerry Brown as the status quo is that he’s, well, Jerry Brown — unpredictable, impossible to categorize, and the smartest guy in the class.

Brown does his best to avoid saying anything substantive about the state’s fiscal mess. Instead he’s positioning himself as an “apostle of common sense” (always with the religious metaphors), a world-weary political warrior who can cut through the bushwa to slash the Gordian knot of state government and its structural double binds.

Newsom is more specific in articulating proposed progressive solutions on a host of issues. He was an early endorser of a plan for a constitutional convention, backs a move to dump the two-thirds budget vote requirement, and cautiously hints at the need to amend Proposition 13.

At this point, though, it’s Brown’s race to lose, at least until Newsom can expand his limited core of support among younger voters.

Mega-Bucks Republicans: Meg Whitman, the billionaire ex-CEO of eBay, is seeking to dominate the GOP Money Primary with a multimillion-dollar contribution report. As a practical matter, she doesn’t need the money; as a political matter, attracting statewide donations helps her strategically, by showing she’s a viable candidate and not just another dilettante business executive. Whitman swiftly became the favorite of the Washington Republican establishment, earning high-profile endorsements from the likes of John McCain and House wunderkind Representative Eric Cantor, as well as an influential if gushy cover profile from the conservative Weekly Standard.

Her effort to court conservatives is being fiercely challenged by Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, whose own Silicon Valley fortune gives him the table stakes to compete against her, and whose aggressive campaign team relentlessly attacks Whitman’s business acumen and lack of political experience.

Running to the left of the duo is former Silicon Valley Congressmember Tom Campbell, the only candidate on either side to offer a thoughtful and comprehensive plan for the intractable problems of the budget and economy. The candidate of free media, Campbell will hustle to every editorial board and talk radio gig he can find because he won’t have the bucks to match his well-heeled rivals.

Today’s 2010 conventional wisdom: Brown vs. Whitman.

Politics 101: Conventional wisdom is always wrong.

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/jul/02/guide-governors-race-one-year-primary/