Tag Archives: offshore oil-drilling

The latest spill: fuel valve to blame for power outage on Hibernia oil platform

A low fuel supply to the equipment that keeps the electricity on is being blamed for causing the power outage that resulted in an estimated 2,200 litres of oil spilling into the Atlantic Ocean from the Hibernia platform over the weekend — just 48 hours after production at the site resumed following an earlier spill. The latest spill happened when the power went out on the oil production platform, prompting the sprinkler system to activate. >click to read< 08:19

1979: NBC 10 reported on oil platforms drilling offshore New England

The Texas Towers radar platforms that were the subject of our special broadcast in the 1960s were gone by 1964. In the next two decades, they were replaced by a different kind of platform — one that drills for oil offshore. In 1979, one was in Narragansett Bay headed south to the Baltimore Canyon to drill. And in 1981, two platforms were drilling for oil in the Georges Bank, much to the consternation of commercial fishermen who worried their rich fishing grounds would be disrupted and polluted. >video, click to read<16:34

State Sen. Goldfinch testimony for offshore oil drilling draws criticism

State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch told a U.S. House subcommittee panel Wednesday that he sees oil and gas exploration off the coast of South Carolina as an opportunity for economic expansion in the Palmetto State. Goldfinch, who represents Murrells Inlet, the Waccamaw Neck and part of Charleston County, was one of four people to testify before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. Goldfinch told the House panel that he believes “offshore oil and gas exploration and development could write the next chapter” in Georgetown’s history. click here to read the story 08:37

We should never allow offshore oil drilling near Myrtle Beach, BY Carol Coney

Jeffrey Nelson’s letter of May 9 tries to convey a sense of safety that new technology will bring to offshore drilling. He feels that underwater drilling platforms guided from miles away will somehow prevent oil spills. What he fails to mention is that technology quite often fails. Combine remote control with a platform many miles beneath the surface, and you are asking for disaster. Yet his premise is that if it is underwater and you can’t see it, it must be safe.Consider this: The Deepwater Horizon drilling platform was using proven technology and, according to the government investigation, failed because of human error and gross negligence. No amount of new technology will eliminate causes like that. Click here to read the op-ed 16:58

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – Keep Offshore Oil Drilling and Seismic Testing Away From the Atlantic Coast

On April 6 Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told the National Ocean Industries Association that an executive order was forthcoming that would start the process of rewriting the five-year plan for the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The next day an op-ed in Morning Consult by Carl Bentzel began Big Oil’s public relations campaign to paint oil/gas exploration and drilling off the Atlantic coast as safe and oil-spill free given new technology and safeguards. Mr. Bentzel argues that the “first steps should be responsible assessment of oil and gas resources in our South Atlantic Ocean.”  So let’s start with seismic airgun blasting that is the essence of this exploration. While proponents of seismic testing say the process is safe for marine life and will provide information for a public debate, neither point is factual. click here to read the op-ed 09:17

Kristine Kaiser: I see offshore oil-drilling coming to N.C.

Gov. Pat McCrory recently hosted a closed-door meeting with elected officials and oil industry representatives about the practice. Environmentalists and stakeholders were not invited. , touting many new jobs. Sometimes I think that Gov. McCrory isn’t at all happy with the state that he leads. He always wants to do a makeover. Commercial fishing and tourism are successful industries in North Carolina. Read the rest here 19:49