The Risks of Offshore Drilling

BP’s 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused many people to look unfavorably on offshore oil drilling.  Potential oil spills, environmental damage and species extinction are some of the major factors being weighed by politicians when they decide whether to allow oil drilling off their shores.

• An emergency response facility must be near any offshore drilling location.  Although there is much oil to be drilled out of the Arctic region, plans to access this oil have been stymied because the nearest Coast Guard facility to the proposed drilling sites is approximately 1,000 miles away.  This would mean any emergency cleanup efforts could take days to reach their destinations.


• Approximately half of all major oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico are caused by hurricanes.  The Gulf of Mexico often has hurricanes sweep through its region, wreaking havoc on oilrigs and damaging pipelines.


• It doesn’t necessarily take an accident for oil and other pollutants to seep into ocean waters.  According to government records, offshore oil operators routinely spill thousands of barrels of chemicals and oil into federal waters every year.


• Once spilled oil hits water, the oil quickly travels large distances.  For example, more than 1,000 miles of Gulf shoreline were hit from BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.


• Oil spills affect tourism in nearby beaches and local fisherman.  An oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, in the 1960s affected tourism in that coastal community for years.  The BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico has negatively affected the amount of fish able to be caught by commercial and recreational fishers.