Offshore Oil Drilling. The United States has been debating the topic of drilling for oil off of the Eastern Coast

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1 Peyton Smith Mrs. Decker English IV 16 February 2016 Offshore Oil Drilling The United States has been debating the topic of drilling for oil off of the Eastern Coast for years. Oil drilling should be allowed off of the coast of North Carolina because it will provide numerous benefits for the state and its people. Background Oil is a widely used product. Americans use products that are made with oil almost everyday. This oil mainly comes from drilling land but also can be found in offshore reserves and can be tapped into (Lombardo 1). There is a large supply of oil that has not been tapped into along the Coast of the United States (Loris 1). The United States is the only country on earth that has restrictions on oil and gas exploration in most of the surrounding waters (Loris 3). Within all of the areas of the United States waters that are off limits to exploration, there is about 19 billion barrels of recoverable oil (Loris 2). The Atlantic Ocean was drilled between 1975 and 1984 but not many of those wells were deep enough to find most of the potential oil (Dlouhy 2). In July of 2014 the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the planning of seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean. Rules were put in place to limit where testing could happen because of the safety of marine life (Koch 4). Most of the Coast of the United States can be open for oil and gas production but exploration can only occur if the area was purchased and is on an active lease. The area is purchased through government auctions (Dlouhy 2).

2 Smith 2 Offshore oil drilling is still currently being debated. Drilling could be allowed off of the coast of North Carolina and some surrounding coastal states between because these states have not chosen a specific side on whether or not drilling exploration should occur off of their shores (Koch 3). Offshore drilling supporters hope that the economic benefits to the East Coast could help persuade the Interior Department to allow drilling in the Atlantic Ocean (Dlouhy 1). Environmentalist try to put off energy exploration by pursuing legal actions (Loris 3). "President Barack Obama's proposal, which will undergo public comment and review before it's finalized, suggests he's trying to strike a balance in dealing with the politically sensitive issue of drilling in protected areas " (Koch 3). Job Opportunities Allowing the East Coast to be drilled will create large amounts of local jobs. Job opportunities will be created because of the amount of people it takes to keep an oil rig functioning and productive. Research done in 2009 has predicted that drilling the waters of the United States could potentially create over one million jobs within the next three to four decades (Taylor 1). There will be thousands of local job opportunities created within the domestic oil industry if the coast of North Carolina is drilled (Allen 2). Due to the Obama Administration's restriction on oil and gas exploration, many potential job opportunities are being put at risk (Koch 6). Jobs will also be created within energy and oil companies on land. Jeff Duncan argued that jobs created from offshore oil drilling would not be limited to the work opportunities on the rig. There will be jobs within the companies and supply vessels and equipment manufacturing. (Dlouhy 1). Joseph Mason, the author of a jobs study, believes that the increase in oil production

3 Smith 3 will force l businesses to investments in more plants. That would ultimately create more jobs (Taylor 1). Some job opportunities will come from the needs of offshore workers for food and shelter. Local businesses will be able to provide these services (Taylor 2). Helping the Economy If the Eastern Coast of the United States is drilled then local oil prices will decrease. In new research it has been found that North Carolina would gain some of the most economic benefits out of the many states along the East Coast if oil was drilled there (Dlouhy 1). Drilling will supply more oil which will decrease the prices of many products that are manufactured with oil (Lombardo 2). When there is less oil available for use then prices of goods that are manufactured with oil will increase (Lombardo 2). Along with dropping oil prices, drilling will bring in money for North Carolina and the United States as well. The environmental cost of drilling the coast of North Carolina would be almost $7 billion but the state could gain about $24 billion in economic output and around $4 billion in additional tax revenues (Dlouhy 1). It is estimated that allowing oil to be drilled in the nation's waters could add about $8 trillion to the United States gross domestic product. It could also add over $400 billion in royalty revenues (Taylor 2). Eliminating Foreign Dependency There will be an abundance of oil along the East Coast if it is drilled. If oil is drilled on the North Carolina Coast the state will have more control over prices and manufacturing rather than letting foreign countries have most of the deciding powers (Lombardo 2). President Obama made the decision to lift the ban on oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and around Alaska in hopes to decrease the United State's dependence on oil from foreign countries (Melina 2).

4 Smith 4 Along with having more oil in the Unites States, other countries will have a lesser risk of oil shortages. The United States relies on other countries for their oil. If any disruption occurs a shortage for oil is possible. If offshore drilling occurred in the Atlantic Ocean the dependency on foreign oil is eliminated (Lombardo 2). Other countries will be able to use the oil for themselves instead of trying to meet a demand of countries that need oil but do not have the means to produce it. Dangers of Drilling A disaster like an oil spill can harm the environment. The opposition of drilling is mainly because of the risk to the environment. There is a chance of an oil spill and it would cause climate danger because of use of fossil fuel (Koch 3). When an oil spill occurs, the oil can be toxic to many animals that interact with the waters. It can cause many health issues for the marine life and it can cause birds to temporarily lose their ability to fly due to oil covering their wings (Lombardo 3). Clean up cost for oil spills off the coast can be very high. It can range from around $30,000 to over $100,000 (Dlouhy 1). Oil rigs can not only be dangerous to the environment but they can also be dangerous to the workers. The large equipment it takes to drill in the depths of the ocean could put the workers on the oil rig in danger (Melina 2). The oil rig can be but at risk for danger because of the chance of hurricanes and other storms (Melina 2). If an accident occurs on an oil rig, it can be difficult for help to get to the rig because it is so far from land (Lombardo 3). If something dangerous happens on the rig and the workers need to get into the water during an emergency, a worker that cannot swim will either be harmed on the rig or harmed in the water because they are unable to swim (Lombardo 3).

5 Smith 5 Conclusion There are many risks that are involved in offshore drilling. It can be dangerous and there is a possibility that people can get hurt but those are not certain. Many tests will be done to make sure oil is drilled safely and effectively. Precautions are being taken to make sure offshore drilling will be safe for people and the environment. Seismic testing will determine where the best places are for drilling (Koch 5). When the risks are compared to the benefits it is obviously that North Carolina and the United States can be helped in more ways than one from offshore oil drilling. Overall, offshore oil drilling will help make the lives easier and better for people on the East Coast. The numerous benefits related to drilling will allow the United States to prosper and become more self reliant. If drilling does not happen there will be many beneficial opportunities missed.

6 Smith 6 Works Cited Allen, Bruce. "How Offshore Oil and Gas Production Benefits the Economy and the Environment." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 30 Nov Web. 02 Feb Dlouhy, Jennifer A. "Study: East Coast States Could Cash in on Offshore Drilling." Fuel Fix. N.p., 17 Sept Web. 02 Feb Koch, Wendy. "What's Behind U.S. Plan to Open Atlantic to Offshore Drilling?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 28 Jan Web. 02 Feb Lombardo, Crystal. "Pros and Cons of Offshore Drilling." Vision Launch. N.p., 11 Jan Web. 02 Feb Loris, Nicolas. "Energy Exploration Would Create Jobs and Raise Revenue Without Raising Taxes." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 8 Sept Web. 04 Feb Melina, By Remy. "Why Is Offshore Drilling So Dangerous?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 28 May Web. 02 Feb Taylor, Phil. "OIL AND GAS: Critics Challenge Claim That Offshore Bill Will Create 1M+ Jobs." OIL AND GAS: Critics Challenge Claim That Offshore Bill Will Create 1M+ Jobs. N.p., 15 Feb Web. 22 Feb

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 78 STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 214th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED JULY 1, 2010

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