An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

Figure 24.3 Oil Inputs to theNorth American Marine EnvironmentOffshore Oil and GasDevelopment(including pipelines)2%RecreationalMarine Vessels2%NaturalSeepage8%63% 22%AtmosphericFallout fromHuman ActivitiesMarineTransportation3%Municipal orIndustrialWaste andRunoffOffshore oil and gas development contributes only 2percent of the 1.8 million barrels of oil released into NorthAmerican waters each year. Natural seepage from theseafloor is by far the largest input, while runoff and wastefrom human land-based activities contribute roughly aquarter of the oil present in the marine environment. On aworldwide basis, the oil released from offshore oil and gasdevelopment still only accounts for 4 percent of the total8.9 million barrels. (One barrel is equal to 42 gallons.)Source: Minerals Management Service. “OCS Oil Spill Facts, 2002.”(Accessed March 2004).Figure 24.4 Pipelines Are a Leading Sourceof Oil Leaks from OCS InfrastructureBarrels of Oil Spilled50,00040,00030,00020,00010,0000■ Platforms1971–1980■ Pipelines1981–19901991–2000In the last thirty years, the amount of oil spilled from OCSplatforms and pipelines has continued to decrease. Thelarge disparity between the number of barrels spilled fromplatforms versus pipelines is indicative of improvements inplatform technology and operations and the greatersusceptibility of pipelines to third party damages, naturalhazards, and structural failure brought on by corrosionand materials fatigue.Source: Minerals Management Service. “OCS Oil Spill Facts, 2002.”(Accessed March 2004).The MMS Environmental Studies Program (ESP) is a major source of informationabout the impacts of OCS oil and gas activities on the human, marine, and coastal environments.Since 1986, annual funding for the program has decreased, in real dollars, from ahigh of $56 million to approximately $18 million in 2003. Even accounting for the contractionin the areas available for leasing, the erosion in ESP funding has occurred at atime when more and better information, not less, is needed. There continues to be a needto better understand the cumulative and long-term impacts of OCS oil and gas development,especially in the area of low levels of persistent organic and inorganic chemicals,and their cumulative or synergistic effects.Also, as noted, OCS oil and gas exploratory activities in the Gulf of Mexico are nowoccurring in water depths approaching 10,000 feet with projections that the industry willachieve 15,000 feet drilling capabilities within the next decade. The technological abilityto conduct oil and gas activities in ever deeper waters on the OCS places a significant andimportant responsibility on MMS to collect the essential environmental deep-water datanecessary for it and other agencies to make informed management and policy decisions onexploration and production activities at those depths. Thus, as the knowledge base increasesand the industry expands its activities further offshore and into deeper waters, new environmentalissues are emerging that cannot all be adequately addressed under the currentESP budget.CHAPTER 24: MANAGING OFFSHORE ENERGY AND OTHER MINERAL RESOURCES363