Hurricane Ike, Missing Drill Rig, And Oil Spills: It's The System That Leaks
by Daniel Kessler, Greenpeace 
on 09.22.08
Oil Slick After Hurricane Ike, High Island, Texas, Smiley N. Pool / The Houston Chronicle, Excerpt
Some politicians consistently say that offshore oil drilling is safe and that drill rigs have withstood Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike without any significant damage or oil spills. The facts, as they often do, tell a very different story. On September 16, the oil drilling company Rowan announced one of its drill rig was missing, and that it had likely capsized and sunk due to Hurricane Ike.
According to the now infamous Minerals Management Service, as of September 15, 2008, one day before the Rowan rig went missing, 28 of the 3,800 offshore oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico had been destroyed, and several other platforms were significantly damaged by Hurricane Ike.
The US Coast Guard reported that due to Katrina, Rita and Ike there were over nine million gallons of oil released from six major and five medium oil spills. For comparison’s sake, the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil, and the Minerals Management service reported that Hurricane Rita destroyed 46 platforms and damaged 20 others, while Hurricane Katrina destroyed 69 platforms and damaged 32 others.
Yet on September 17, John McCain said he visited an oil rig in the Gulf, it survived the hurricane, it was safe and sound, and fish were swimming all around it. Clearly McCain visited a rig that escaped damage, but it’s a tremendous disservice to spin his visit in a way that leads people to believe there was no damage from the terrible winds of the hurricane.
Now, to be fair, the nine million gallons spilled as a result of Katrina, Rita and Ike were not spilled from offshore rigs. The oil was spilled from onshore tanks and pipelines that failed or ruptured. However, it’s not possible to drill offshore in the Gulf without an extensive network of tanks, pipelines, refineries and other infrastructure.
More offshore oil drilling will only lead to more oil spills, pollution and global warming. And global warming is the very thing that supercharges storms like Katrina, Rita and Ike, which in turn causes major oil spills and extensive damage to oil industry infrastructure. It’s a vicious cycle that any candidate for President should approach with true solutions to global warming: energy efficiency so that we get more out of every drop of oil, and a new vision for US energy that relies on renewables. Find out more about what options, besides dirty fossil fuels, are available to us right now for a clean and green future.
Image credit::Oil Slick After Hurricane Ike, High Island, Texas, Smiley N. Pool / The Houston Chronicle via SkyTruth Blog
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Right. So technically when they say that the rigs are safe, they are not lying. They're just saying under their breath "but the tanks aren't. Heh heh."
Actually it's the earth that leaks.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/non-renewable/images/oilinwater.gif
Maybe fewer or no shore side tankage.
Maybe no 'open top' storage tanks
Maybe we also look at "non-point-source" oil pollution estimated at 180 million gallon a year - of used motor oil alone.
Hard to say what the 'best' solution is - but banning all offshore production will serve only to wreck the ecomnomy.
Like it not, oil is in our future for at least the near future.
Of course, all bets are off if the Vulcans land and share matter-antimatter power production with us......
I must disagree. More offshore drilling will rapidly increase supply, freeing up resources and funds for development of clean coal, nuclear, solar and wind technology. Then we can stop all together.
Oil drilling rigs and platforms can flush their systems quickly when a storm approaches. The spigot is at the bottom of the ocean and is is no danger their. So while the oil company may donate an artificial reef when they lose a rig, this is not an envrionmental disaster, but can be a good thing for the fauna & flora.
It would be simple to make sure that we do not store petroleum near the shore where it can be damaged. Even pipelines can be flushed before the storm, much like you drain your hoses in the yard when a freeze comes.
While it's difficult to see the spill in the picture in deatil, the sheen on the water could have even come from the boats in a marina after a bad hurricane.
We do indeed need altternatives soon. Let's just tell the truth about drilling. When people realize that you're exagerating, then your credibility is lost and they won't accept what you say even when you tell the truth.