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Study: Virginia should OK OCS drilling
A state report recommends that Virginia allow offshore exploration for natural gas and oil deposits but take environmental precautions before taking action.
The study, prepared for former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner and state lawmakers, suggests that drilling take place only 50 miles or more from the coast and that no pipeline or infrastructure be built on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Any exploration would target both natural gas and oil on the outer continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean.
The study was released earlier in January by former state Commerce Secretary Michael J. Schewel, who chaired an advisory panel that included energy experts, industry officials, lawmakers and environmentalists. The group met three times to help prepare the report.
“Overall, it sounds pretty responsible,” said Mike Town, state director of the Sierra Club. “There’s definitely more questions than answers on this issue ... but I’m pleased with the results of the study.”
The panel’s report noted that North Carolina more than a decade ago found that possible exploration off Manteo was incompatible with its coastal zone management rules. It said Virginia should make a similar analysis. It also said safety measures should be carefully reviewed, and it raised the specter of possible spills from hurricanes or future pipelines. Virginia only 11% of Atlantic Coast OCS Supply is another big question.
The federal Minerals Management Service has estimated that the outer continental shelf along the Atlantic coast could hold as much as 33.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 3.5 billion barrels of oil.
But Virginia makes up only 11 percent of that potential, with estimated profits ranging wildly from zero to over $10 billion, the report said.
“Accordingly, the Commonwealth should not have unrealistic expectations about the likelihood or the amount of potential revenue or economic activity derived from such potential reserves,” the report said.
Virginia should not anticipate any new supplies being tapped for at least another decade.
An energy bill sponsored by state Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, would ask Washington to renew offshore gas exploration off Virginia’s coast. The practice has not been permitted since 1990 and would take an act of Congress to overturn.
Wagner sponsored a bill last year urging the moratorium be lifted. But he backed off and helped create the study after protests from Virginia Beach City Hall and environmental groups.
—The Associated Press
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