We the People

To drill or not to drill...

By Ron Meyer

Published in the Santa Barbara News-Press

Finding tar on your feet after a scenic beach walk is something Santa Barbarans are used to, but I was a bit shocked when it first happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I frantically asked the people I was with if it was because of a leak from a platform or the result of a spill. I was surprised to find out it was natural oil seeps.

In fact, this natural seepage is the most abundant source of pollution on the Santa Barbara coast. The Santa Barbara County Energy Division reported that Coal Oil Point’s seepage rate is between 150 and 200 barrels per day. The 6-mile stretch around Coal Oil point produces approximately 10,000 gallons each day.

My knee-jerk reaction was that if there’s oil just gushing out of the sea floor, we ought to drill. If there is an abundance of liquid gold out there just hurting the environment, why not remove it and boost our economy?

Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple — but almost. While drilling doesn’t completely stop the seepage, it significantly decreases it.

A UCSB report showed a 50 percent decline in seepage when they tested the area around Platform Holly. Similar studies across the world have shown drilling removes pressure from the reservoirs that cause seepage.

Considering every year this area seeps about 86,000 barrels of oil into the ocean — the equivalent of the infamous 1969 oil spill — drilling could definitely cut pollution.

Not only are offshore seeps the largest air polluter in the county, these seeps negatively impact the sensitive wildlife in the area. Seals, sea otters, whales and birds are just some of the animals affected.

These adverse impacts have brought oil companies and environmentalists in Santa Barbara together to address this issue. While some of the more radical environmental groups refuse to drill no matter what, others have been quite willing to negotiate.

The Tranquillion Ridge (T-Ridge) Project is a great example. This project would give new leases to oil company Plains Exploration and Production Co. (PXP) in exchange for dismantling four of its platforms by 2022.

Every local environmental organization has endorsed the T-Ridge project and made statements to the state Lands Commission in support of it. They like that PXP will be using existing infrastructure because pollution would be limited. More importantly, these organizations agreed that slant drilling could be done safely from these structures.

As I’ve spoken to locals, their biggest concern is having another big spill. After looking at the pictures and stories, I can’t blame them. But things have changed since 1969.

New and improved slant drilling technology, combined with other upgrades like spring-loaded valves that automatically shut down oil flow if a leak develops in the pipes, and caging that goes deeper into the bedrock as a protection against major blow-outs have revolutionized the drilling process.

PXP went through the proper steps locally, and while both sides have come to a deal, the T-Ridge project has been held up for now in the state’s bureaucracy. The California Legislature needs to act, but we all know how quickly things move in Sacramento.

On Monday, Carpinteria’s City Council put another project, Venoco’s Paredon Oil and Gas Development Initiative, on the ballot for next June. Venoco proposes to use 35 acres in Carpinteria, bordered by Dump Road, City Hall, the ocean and the bluffs, for the exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas from both offshore and onshore fields using slant drilling.

Paredon would bring in revenue and jobs for the city and county, while reducing seeps. However, the locals point out — and I agree — that the specifics of this plan take away too much regulatory control from Carpinteria and give it to the state.

Venoco needs to learn how to negotiate with locals and environmentalists like PXP did with T-Ridge. Folks in Carpinteria want to be able to make sure the oil companies don’t harm their city. Venoco needs to do a better job convincing these people that not only will they do no harm, they will help the local environment and the city coffers.

If more companies like Venoco follow the T-Ridge model, more drilling sites may be able to be opened in the area. If we can use new, safer technology to extract the oil polluting our waters, while making way for a transition to renewable fuels, it would be in the best interests of everyone in the county.

Some still may be resistant to drilling because they live in the illusion that the world can and should immediately switch to renewable energy. The fact is, we still need a bridge to renewable fuel. A cheap and abundant alternative to oil has yet to be completely developed. I hope one comes soon.

We still will need oil for this transitional period, and we can either get that oil from California — bringing jobs and revenues to the state and cities along the coast — or we can keep getting it from Russia and OPEC. Especially in tough economic times, we cannot afford to keep shipping money overseas to people who don’t have our best interests at heart.

All levels of government ought to consider allowing offshore and slant drilling in California. Localities know their area and environment the best, so any major decision should be allowed to be made by them. Sacramento and Washington shouldn’t be making this choice for us.

In Santa Barbara County, we should advocate for smart drilling in areas of high seepage. We should have the freedom to access this resource and gain the benefits from its removal.