Debate Over Offshore Drilling Back in the Spotlight

By Dale Eisman and Warren Fiske, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Jun. 19–RICHMOND — Democrat Mark Warner said Wednesday that potential oil and natural gas deposits off the Virginia coast should be open for exploration, but not necessarily for production.

Republican Jim Gilmore argued that offshore energy must be exploited to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign producers. “Drill here. Drill now. Pay less,” he declared.

The arms-length exchange between the two former governors and current U.S. Senate nominees mirrored a mushrooming national debate on the issue, and it underscored how $4-plus per gallon gas prices are propelling energy concerns to the forefront of this year’s political campaigns.

Republicans ranging from President Bush to Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee to succeed him, to Virginia’s Gilmore are arguing that more U.S.-produced energy would reduce prices at the pump.

In Missouri on Wednesday, McCain, a one time opponent of ocean drilling, called new offshore energy production “a matter of fairness to the American people.”

In Washington, President Bush appeared in the White House Rose Garden to urge Congress to repeal a 26-year-old moratorium on most exploration in U.S. waters.

But a parade of Democrats, including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, their presumptive presidential nominee, insist that the GOP push for drilling is a political gimmick that could slow the development of alternative energy sources.

“This is not something that’s going to give consumers short-term relief,” Obama said.

“Let’s not fool ourselves; this is not a long-term solution,” Mark Warner said. “If we were to drill everywhere from New Jersey to South Carolina — and it’s still years away — it would only add 140 days of oil supply to this country.”

“People are being sold a bill of goods here,” agreed North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley. It would take at least 10 years to find and then extract any oil offshore, he said, and the amount available would add so little to the world’s supply that it would not affect prices.

Other Democrats said McCain’s support for offshore drilling — he was on record in support of the moratorium until Monday — represents a capitulation to Bush, a former oilman, and oil companies.

In a conference call with reporters set up by the Obama campaign, Easley also warned that drilling along the Eastern Seaboard could produce oil spills that would devastate beachfront communities and the fishing and tourist industries.

The threat of such pollution has helped keep the moratorium in place, with strong support from environmentalists and politicians in coastal states.

Still, with energy prices skyrocketing, Democrats such as Warner and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine have signaled their willingness to consider drilling offshore, and Republicans such as Rep. Thelma Drake of Norfolk and soon-to-retire Sen. John Warner of Virginia have pushed legislation to lift the moratorium.

John Warner and the state’s other senator, Democrat Jim Webb, joined forces Wednesday to introduce legislation that would end the ban on drilling offshore for natural gas but leave it in place for oil.

Webb called the initiative “a preliminary step toward exploration and development of one of our domestic energy sources,” adding that “all options need to be on the table” to meet U.S. energy needs.

“My sense is that both sides are jockeying,” said Quentin Kidd, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.

Particularly along the coasts, there is still strong public support for maintaining the moratorium to avoid the risks of pollution that could result if a hurricane ripped through offshore oil platforms or human error triggered a major spill, Kidd said.

“But what Republicans are noticing is that as gas prices go up, there’s a greater sense that people want government to be trying to do something about it,” he added.

At least some elected leaders also see offshore exploration as a potential financial bonanza for coastal states.

State Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, argues that drilling offshore could generate as much as $200 million annually in royalties for Virginia’s treasury. On Wednesday, he announced legislation to divide the bulk of that revenue between transportation funding and Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts.

Others, in both parties, moved forward on energy initiatives that go well beyond the debate over more drilling.

Mark Warner, for example, said that tax credits should be increased for people who buy hybrid vehicles and that tax breaks given to oil companies in 2005 should be reduced.

And in Washington, Rep. Randy Forbes, a Chesapeake Republican, announced he’s introduced legislation for a “new Manhattan Project” that would give federal grants to scientists and researchers to develop energy-saving technologies.

By Dale Eisman and Warren Fiske. Staff writer Julian Walker contributed to this report, which includes information from The Associated Press.

—–

To see more of the The Virginian-Pilot, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pilotonline.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.