The BP Oil Spill

Let me begin by stating unequivocally that the BP oil spill is an environmental disaster – a terrible tragedy. Good men died, many more will lose their livelihood, and the environmental and economic repercussions will plague us for years to come.

The Deepwater Horizon was an offshore exploration/production platform leased by BP. It caught on fire, blew up, and sunk into 5,000 feet of water. Tragically and as yet unexplainably, none of the multiple redundant safety systems cut off the oil flow, and the pipes are now leaking huge volumes of oil into the Gulf. Bad weather has impaired efforts to cut off the flow, and it may develop that the flow will not stop completely until adjacent pressure relief wells are drilled – an effort requiring several months at best.

The Deepwater Horizon was a state-of-the-art platform. It was not tethered or anchored in any way to the bottom. It used computer controlled thrusters and GPS to “dynamically position” itself within a few feet of the same spot, thus allowing it to operate in waters nearly two miles deep. Its sister rigs have operated safely in many locales.

Even if it was a design flaw, and the experts are somehow able to re-create the scenario that led to the disaster and fix the design, the impact will be felt for many years to come. Scarier still, the Deepwater Horizon has been an ongoing target of jihadists and eco-terrorists, but, even if this turns out to be a terrorist attack and not a design flaw or mistake, the world will be slow to regain its confidence in offshore technology. The histrionics, hype, and hyper-criticism of the anti-oil crowd will continually inflame the issue. Why blame the poor benighted terrorists when we have the oil industry to villainize.

Logic will be no match for the hysteria. For example, there are mounds of data clearly demonstrating that the volume of leaks from tankers and other ships vastly exceeds any leaks from offshore rigs, including this one. From a strictly environmental viewpoint, therefore, the best way to minimize oil leakage is to stop using tankers to import our oil. We should instead replace that imported oil by developing our own oil fields – onshore and offshore. But who needs logic? There will be a great hue and cry to stop all offshore drilling in US coastal waters, and efforts to halt onshore drilling will closely follow.

Stand by. Cap and Trade cannot be far behind – then again who cares if our economy tanks as long as offshore rigs are banned.