Offshore Oil

Vast energy resources are available off the California coast

The Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in questions about the safety of oil development off the coast of California.

WSPA recognizes the need to learn from that accident to ensure the petroleum industry is operating in the safest manner possible. We continue to believe California businesses and consumers would benefit from development of the huge reserves of petroleum off the California coast, in both state and federal waters.  

The record of safety established by offshore operators in California over the past 40 years has been excellent.  But we recognize an incident on the scale of the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico accident is going to influence the public policy debate on offshore oil.

We don’t yet know what caused the accident in the Gulf of Mexico and whether or not there are any lessons to be learned that are applicable to the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf where most offshore oil production in California takes place today.  We are waiting for the investigations to be completed.

The petroleum industry on the West Coast has demonstrated a very high level of sensitivity to environmental issues associated with operating in a marine environment.  We are committed to constant improvement in those operations.

According to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, in the past 40 years, more than 1 billion barrels of oil have been produced off the coast of California.  During that time, less than 850 barrels of oil have been accidentally spilled into the ocean.

California is one of the largest consumers of petroleum based fuels in the world.  In fact, our economy and lifestyles depend on oil.  

The platforms off the California coast produce approximately 36 million barrels of oil per year – about 15 percent of our in-state petroleum production.  Without those important sources of energy, we would need to import more crude oil in tankers.  In many cases, that oil comes from less stable foreign sources and with resultant adverse economic consequences for California consumers.

Oil exploration and production in California ranks among the most closely regulated activities in the world.  There are literally hundreds of laws and regulations that govern petroleum industry activities in California.  

More importantly, though, is the fact that the men and women who work in the industry are committed to doing everything they can to ensure that workers, near-by communities and the environment are protected.