First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that Dirty Dewey owns seasons two, four and six of Sex and the City. Take that for what it's worth.

********************************************



So I spent Wednesday through Friday working on this beast of a story on the future of offshore drilling. I've talked to about twenty people for this bitch, but this quote still stays with me, from an analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

"[Natural gas] doesn't do you any good on the platform. That involves pipelines, storage facilities, and facilities to transfer the gas. You get onshore industrialization that is often incompatible with coastal economies -- fishing and tourism."

It reminded me of the spot where I used to surf back in LA - closest to my old apartment. This giant Chevron oil refinery/water treatment monstrocity serves as the backdrop, and it's so awful it's a joke. Some mornings you'd go out there and see colors in the water you didn't know existed. And the smells...[full body shiver].

I hope that when I have kids - if I don't have any already - there'll still be dolphins migrating off the shore, poking out of the water in the morning to say "hi" in between sets.

Sitting out there, I used to wonder how much longer they'd tolerate the sludge that is the Santa Monica Bay before crying uncle.

(Who am I kidding: In journalism, there's no way I'll be able to afford SoCal real estate. My kids'll learn about dolphins in a textbook, somewhere in Middle America. The point is moot.)

Anyways, here's my beast of a story in today's News-Press. I think it might be a front-pager but won't know for sure until next week, as per the 2001: A Space Odyssey law.

Energy costs, concerns spark re-examination of offshore options


4/17/05
By DICKIE CRONKITE
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT


D.C. dips into state waters


Oil: Drilling moratorium may give way to industry, government pressure


WASHINGTON -- As gas prices soar and political debate focuses on the nation's dependence on foreign oil, energy companies are seizing the moment to push for changes in federal laws that protect the U.S. coastline from further drilling and exploration.

"We get a sense that there's a big battle coming," said Bryan Gulley, spokesman for Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. Oil and gas companies have become emboldened after the Senate signaled that it would approve drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, he said.

"They're not only going after the Gulf (of Mexico), they're going after California," he added.

Since 1981, new oil exploration in federal waters has been restricted on both coasts, including in the Santa Barbara Channel. The federal moratorium also bans new drilling in parts of the Gulf of Mexico and a small area off the coast of Alaska. But the energy industry is working to open offshore waters to new drilling.

Mr. Gulley described a renewed industry effort to convince supporters of the federal moratorium that the ban should be lifted. "Different petroleum-like associations have come to see us," he said.

Rock Zierman, director of public affairs for the California Independent Petroleum Association, a nonprofit group representing about 450 independent crude oil and natural gas producers, says all options -- including lifting the moratorium -- should stay on the table.

"We have record gas and oil prices, and we're increasingly dependent on more sources of oil. One way to do that is to go get the resources we have access to," Mr. Zierman said.

The Bush administration currently supports the moratorium. However, President Bush's Interior secretary, Gale Norton, plans to offer new drilling leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The 3 million-acre area in question is not covered under the moratorium, but it has special protection from drilling at a time when the president's brother, Jeb Bush, is governor of Florida. The new leases would not take effect until 2007, when he will have left office.

Some think the effort in Florida indicates that more fundamental changes in offshore drilling policy are on the horizon.

On Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing to discuss "recent technological advancements made in the offshore exploration and production of traditional forms of energy" and "the future of deep shelf and deepwater production."


Among the participants will be Charles Davidson, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., who has previously spoken in favor of more offshore drilling to help keep pace with oil and gas demand.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D.-Calif., is a minority member of the committee and said she remains "adamantly opposed" to offshore drilling.

Another potential challenge facing the drilling moratorium is the State Enhanced Authority for Coastal and Offshore Resource Act, or SEACOR. This industry-backed initiative, still in its formative stages, proposes more state control over offshore energy exploration and development.

State coastal waters generally end three miles offshore, and federal waters extend from that point to 200 miles at sea. The industry proposal would give states a say in oil and gas exploration well beyond the traditional three-mile boundary. In the process, it would end the 24-year moratorium on new drilling in federal waters.

It would also mean more revenues for coastal states like California, based on how much drilling activity a particular state allows.

Draft legislation has not yet been submitted to Congress, but the resource act is making its way through the corridors of Capitol Hill.

In California, opposition to offshore drilling is widespread -- even as the state ranks highest in the nation in gasoline consumption. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic Sens. Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and a host of other legislators have all come out against further offshore drilling.

But Mr. Zierman of the petroleum association said its opposition focuses specifically on allowing new platforms, not necessarily on increased drilling from existing ones. The industry initiative, on the other hand, involves tapping new reservoirs from existing platforms. It's an important, subtle distinction, he said: "I think there are more that support than oppose that."


"SEACOR is intriguing. (It's) something we should at least talk about," said Peggy Laramie, spokesperson for the American Gas Association, a group representing 195 utility companies.

Ms. Laramie said the American Gas Association has already briefed the Coastal States Association, a group representing the governors of the nation's 35 coastal states, about the initiative.

Aides in the powerful House Resources Committee said the industry initiative has stalled, and that it won't find its way into legislation any time soon. But in Virginia, the Assembly passed a bill requiring lobbyists for the state to push for the initiative in Congress.

Similarly, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced legislation to give governors the right to authorize drilling off their states' coasts. This would also bring a swift end to the moratorium.

"There's a lot of fear involved," said Bryan Kennedy, spokesman for Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Stockton, chairman of the House Resources Committee. "The fear is because the moratorium is weak. It's only as good as one line in an appropriations bill."


Matt Streit, another aide to Mr. Pombo, said the congressman supports the current moratorium.

At the same time, Mr. Streit added, Mr. Pombo believes "we need to start looking at our own domestic sources."

His is a commonly heard, dual message that makes the moratorium's long-term future uncertain.

Howard Gantman, spokesman for Ms. Feinstein, said the moratorium is "always in danger."


As recently as Wednesday, Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., had a provision in the current energy bill calling for new exploration of natural gas sources in federal waters. He later withdrew it.

Mr. Peterson's spokesman, Paul Feenstra, said the provision's purpose was to "conduct an inventory and find out what resources we have."

Although Mr. Peterson insisted his language did not challenge the moratorium per se, when a similar provision was introduced in the energy bill two years ago, Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, successfully fought against it.

"What is the purpose of this provision if not to open up (federal waters) to new oil and gas drilling in the future?" Mrs. Capps asked the committee in 2003.

"It's a constant fight," Mr. Gantman added.

In February, Ms. Boxer, another opponent of further offshore drilling, wrote a letter to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Dominici, R-N.M.:

"Any efforts . . . authorizing new drilling or exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf ignores longstanding protections to our coastlines. Congress has prevented such activities in the past because of the negative environmental effects," Ms. Boxer wrote.

The letter was co-written with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, whose home state of North Carolina could also be affected. Ms. Boxer and Ms. Dole were joined by nine Senate allies, including Ms. Feinstein.

In California, the offices of Ms. Feinstein; Ms. Boxer; Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley.; and Mrs. Capps all say they have not been approached or lobbied to end the federal moratorium.

Mr. Gallegly and Mrs. Capps both argue that developing energy alternatives is a key solution to the nation's current oil and gas woes.

Lisa Speer, senior policy analyst at the National Resources Defense Council, said that between 1980 and 1999, there were 73 drilling-related incidents resulting in 3 million gallons of oil being spilled in the country's outer continental shelf region.

According to John Romero, a public affairs officer for the federal Minerals Mangement Service, 35,000 gallons have spilled off the coast of California since 1970. He said this compares with 4,200 to 6,300 gallons that seep out naturally each day.

Lawmakers such as Mr. Peterson are careful to distinguish between drilling for oil, which is susceptible to catastrophic spills, and natural gas.

But Ms. Speer maintains that even with natural gas, a host of "environmental consequences" accompany its offshore drilling. "It doesn't do you any good on the platform. That involves pipelines, storage facilities, and facilities to transfer the gas," she said. "You get onshore industrialization that is often incompatible with coastal economies -- fishing and tourism."


Mr. Romero said there are 23 platforms in federal waters off the coast of California. Greg Scott, assistant division chief at the California State Lands Commission, said that in comparison there are only four platforms in state waters.

Mr. Romero says that even with the ban on further exploration, there are 79 existing leases in federal waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. These leases predate the 1981 moratorium. Of those, 43 leases are producing oil and gas and the remaining 36 are untapped.

Mr. Romero said the 43 active leases have already rendered 1 billion barrels of oil and more than 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The 36 nonproducing leases could yield up to another 1 billion barrels, or enough to cover the state's oil demand for about 500 days, according to government statistics. These leases also contain an estimated 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas.


Dickie Cronkite writes from Washington, D.C., for Medill News Service. E-mail him at mhonore@newspress.com.

By the numbers

23 Oil platforms in federal waters off the California coast

35,000 Gallons of oil spilled off the California coast since 1970

79 Oil leases in federal waters off Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties

43 Number of those leases actively producing oil and gas


STEVE MALONE / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS