Opponents To Off-Shore Drilling Are Still Living In 1969

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has stated unequivocally that she will not support drilling on the outer continental shelf (OCS). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appears ready to tow the no drill line as well. For politicians like Ms. Pelosi, the 1969 oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara, California was fundamental to shaping their view that drilling for oil on the OCS was too risky.

1969 was a long time ago. The advances in drilling technology since 1969 have been nothing sort of extraordinary. Companies like Smith International, Hydril, Amcol International, National Oilwell Varco and Oceaneering have transformed the process. In the western Gulf of Mexico, the only off-shore area where drilling is permitted in the lower 48 states, there has not been a major or even minor incident. Even in the tempest of Katrina, not a single drop of oil was spilled in the gulf.

Today, the technology exists to drill deeper and less invasively than ever before. What is most frustrating about this, is that these predominately American technologies are being used everywhere else in the world but America. Brazil's Petrobras has discovered enormous oil reserves off their continental shelf that are only now recoverable due to the advances in deep water drilling and production technology.

Think about how long ago 1969 was in terms of technology. In 1969 the IBM PC was still 11 years from being invented. The F-4 Phantom was the front-line fighter for the U.S. military. Most family TV's were black and white. Cars regulated gas flow using carburetors. The Arpanet, the Defense Department's distant predecessor to the Internet, was just in the planning stage. Music would still be sold on pressed vinyl albums for years to come.

Politicians and advocates that oppose drilling in the OCS are still living in 1969. Time for a time warp to the present.