The Debate Over Offshore Oil Drilling to Meed America's Oil Needs

Senator Everett Dirksen once noted “The oilcan is mightier than the sword”. In today’s world, it is easy to see why oil can be considered the most important resource to hold. Without oil, many of the common day occurrences we take for granted would be impossible. Oil is used for almost everything; from the fuel used to drive our vehicles, to the plastics used in every facet of life, and providing the heat needed to live through the winter. In fact, the United States depends so much on oil that as a nation it uses over 20 million barrels a day. Importing oil increases the total costs because of the need to transport it from around the world. It is estimated

When people hear the word oil it is commonly interpreted as gas, but the oil that we drill is not what goes into our cars. The oil that is retrieved from the ground is called crude oil, Oil in its raw natural form and when it becomes refined it is used in plastics, rubber, and gasoline. ”Gasoline is a volatile, flammable liquid obtained from the refinement of petroleum, or crude oil. It was originally discarded as a byproduct of kerosene production.” The first oil well was found and harvested in Titusville, Pennsylvania by a man named Edwin L. Drake, in 1859. The well was about 70 feet deep (How gas). It pumped between 20-40 barrels a day

Texas’ history with oil starts much earlier than the 1901 Spindletop gusher. As early as 1543, there were reports of natural oil seeps along the coast of Texas which was used as both medical treatments and caulking for boats by Spanish explorers (Wooster). In 1866, the first of Texas’ oil producing wells was drilled in Nacogdoches County, however the supply and profit was not high enough to justify further development. In 1895 in Corsicana, Texas there was a minor oil find that led to the creation of Texas’ first oil refinery in Nacogdoches, Texas. Another large oil find is the East Texas Oil Field which spans 140,000 acres and is considered to be the largest oil field in the United States (excluding Alaska); this oil field has produced over 5.2 billion barrels from its 30,340 historic and active oil wells (Smith).

Offshore drilling is defined as” The operation of oil wells on the continental shelf, sometimes in water hundreds of feet deep” according to dictionary.com. This method of drilling is a very common form, being used throughout different locations offshore everywhere in the world, the first being in 1897 according to howstuffworks.com. The locations of oil are found by two main methods. The first one is by finding magnetic occurrences that are in natural in the ground. If readings found a steady amount of magnetism over a general area then suddenly a large decline, they could have found the location of an oil deposit. But to ensure that is in fact a trap, the second method called sparking. “sparking is sending shock waves down through the water and into the ocean floor.” This allows ships above to be able to read the ground below and see at different locations where

The “U.S. became the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas” in 2013 (Energy Infrastructure). “Capital spending in the infrastructure that moves and transforms oil and gas into everyday products … has increased by 60 percent between 2010 and 2013” (Energy Infrastructure). The rise to become the top producer has led to the decrease in “U.S. oil import dependence” and the “rise of U.S. product exports” (U.S. Oil Import Dependence). The increased exportation of oil and gas by the U.S. has allowed both of these products to become large moneymakers for the United States. Although we will probably never “completely eliminate our need” for oil, we can reduce our petroleum consumption and the damage we inflict on the environment (Reduce Oil Dependence Costs). By decreasing the “dependence on oil” in new vehicles, there has been a

After it has drilled a while deeper another casing is placed to further protect the groundwater from the natural gas and oil which is to be soon produced. Vertically the drill may dig as deep as 4,500 to 7,500 feet.

Americans have been drilling for oil for more than half of their existence. Before the 1850’s oil was of little use and had no market for commerce as there was not one overwhelming use for it. Until around the 1850’s, when technology advanced, with it sparking search for one of the most sought after natural resources that countries would later go to war over, petroleum oil. Early inventions like the kerosene lamp provided a new stable home necessity to live by, increasing the demand for crude oil. This would be met in part by Colonel Edwin Drake, who drilled the first successful oil well in 1858. While Drake’s invention for extracting crude oil from the ground would bring about a new era for industrialization, his “black gold” would bring about an even larger effect, the environmental disasters caused by man. For over one hundred and fifty years of drilling for oil, both on shore and offshore, has led to some of the worst catastrophes to both nature and mankind. While many of these catastrophes have led to the deaths of hundreds of crew members, they have also led to long lasting effects on the environment, local and national economies, legislation, regulations, and human morale. These following effects can be seen in the most recent and most contaminated marine oil spill in history. To the media and public it’s known as the British Petroleum offshore drilling oil spill in 2010.

Robert Samuelson's article, "Let's export oil," is a brilliant opinion on the macroeconomic advantages of exporting oil in the international markets and the need to lift the ban on the export of crude oil. The application of new drilling techniques has resulted in an exponential increase in the production of crude oil. This increased production has given us the opportunity to reevaluate our position on the ban on the export of crude oil, because with this new capability comes a responsibility of stabilizing the global oil market as a responsible member of the global community, not to mention our responsibility towards the American people by curbing our import dependence. The author details how this ban is handing an unfair advantage to hostile countries such as Russia and Iran, while severely limiting the options to oil producers in the States, who would eventually reduce, if not stop, new exploration because the ban makes it a less lucrative project which is not worthy of investing time and resources on it. While trying to be fair and balanced, he highlights the risks involved in transporting oil by trains and inadequate pipelines, while explicitly mentioning the environmental worries about fracking. He clearly points out the microeconomic implications by mentioning that the quadrupling of oil prices in the early 1970s led to the ban on oil exports. He understands that persuading the public may be difficult, and that is where political leadership needs to bridge this divide by explaining to the public in the most efficient way possible that despite the risks involved, the gains outweigh the costs.

The issue of whether offshore oil drilling is a safe operation or not has been arguing for a long time in the United States. ( SPE International, N.D.) Drilling on water started in early 1930s in Louisiana by shallow-draft barges. Nevertheless, the first oil well on water was drilled in 9th of September, 1947 by Kerr-McGee’s unit Tender Assist Drilling (TAD) in the Gulf of Mexico (SPE International, N.D.). A year after year, oil companies used more and more sophisticated equipment to drill on water, but the number of spilled accidents has been rising since 1964 (Ivanovich, and Hays, 2008). After all, while

Petroleum companies spent millions and developed a new technique that can drill in isle, its name is Offshore Oil Platforms. The first used for platforms was constructed in 1897 at California, and after that, oil prospectors pushed out into the ocean, first on piers and then on artificial islands. In 1928, a Texan oilman was the first time to use it to drilling in wetlands. Oil rigs floating cities, employing and housing hundreds of people those who can extract the oil from the isle, and also, they can drill up to 4,000

Oil spills usually occur as temporary accidents, while pollution from trucks happens every day. Therefore, offshore drilling does not contaminate the water as badly as the United States thinks.

Gasoline prices are a fast, never-ending rollercoaster in the middle of the night: unpredictable, wavering and impactful. With control of these prices through future market contracts, the petroleum industry seems to have significant influence on the U.S. economy. Private corporate oil companies yield some of the greatest power on the planet, but will face a major dilemma in the near future when the last of this finite, nonrenewable resource left on earth is gone. Oil is the most valued commodity across the world and has been for decades. Yet, this precious resource is far from satisfactory in meeting moderate standards for eco-friendliness and efficiency. The burning of crude oil produces dangerous levels of

On April 20th 2010 a damage Macondo wellhead part of an oil rig named the Deepwater Horizon rig, owned by Transocean and operated by BP (British Petroleum). Exploded 42 miles of the coast of Louisiana, immediately killing 11 workers and leaking for 87 days before the wellhead was capped. Although it was already much too late, as over 4.9 million barrels had already leaked into the Gulf. “Once the oil left the well, it spread throughout the water column. Some floated to the ocean surface to form oil slicks, which can spread more quickly by being pushed by winds. Some floated in the midwater, rising from the wellhead like a chimney and forming a 22-mile long oil plume.” (Ocean Si). Immediately after the spill, people began to debate whether or not drilling for oil is really that necessary, debating what’s more important, the industry and all the economics of drilling for oil, or the harm that happens to people and the environment when a disaster happens.

Since the past few decades, owning a car has become a necessity in order to commute from one place to another. However, cars do not work automatically, they require fuel. Since the past decade, the petroleum industry has become one of the leading industries impacting the nation’s economy. Oil has become an essential commodity as it is utilized in transportation vehicles, serves as a raw material for manufacturing plastics, and is utilized in homes for cooking. America’s economy is greatly dependent on petroleum as it is the “black gold” of the nation. The considerable significance of oil has led to the drilling of it, which is not only limited to land, but also the oceans. Offshore drilling is a method in which petroleum is extracted from underneath the seabed. It is one of the significant technological advancements in the past few decades. However, the ones who are involved in the process of offshore oil production are humans, and humans tend to make mistakes. In 1969, due to a human error, an oil spill occurred and natural gas, oil, and mud shot up the well and oozed into the ocean (“Offshore Drilling”). The oil spilled led to an environmental disaster which killed thousands of marine animals and distorted the environment. In order to prevent the same error, the government passed a moratorium in 1981, banning more than 85 percent of the country’s oil drilling sites (“Offshore Drilling”). The moratorium restricted the United States to mass-produce its natural resource.

The world is an ever changing place, moving at a punishing pace. This perpetual motion requires a constant source of energy. This energy comes in the form of oil and petroleum products, products that invigorate both our cars and America’s foreign and domestic policy. Oil is king. It rules everyday life, national policy, and the fates, even the lives, of millions of people. Oil is power in the form of black liquid in a barrel. However, America does not, at the moment, have the ability to control this valuable resource in a way that would enable the freedom of policy that the government so sorely needs. Our hands are tied. This deficiency is already costing American citizens millions and restricting government policy. By importing our oil, American’s limit themselves and the power their government can have in the world arena. There is a solution that would benefit both the economy and prestige of America: eliminating or reducing our dependence on foreign oil, through the means of increased fracking and drilling on American soil.