Deepwater Horizon: What Others Are Saying

Jane Van Ryan
Posted April 28, 2010

Bloggers are watching the oil spill response closely, and a few have offered their thoughts about the importance of oil and natural gas to the American way of life.

Merv Benson at Prairie Pundit commented:

"BP is certainly putting the resources behind the effort to staunch the flow of oil from the blowout. It is important not noly (sic) to stop this flow, but to prove that these deep wells can be safely managed when problems strike. The potential from these wells is much too important to not fix this problem as promptly as possible."

Gail the Actuary at The Oil Drum mentioned that the Deepwater Horizon accident could prompt government officials to propose new rules for offshore drilling, which could lead to unintended consequences.

"It is easy to say that there should be more rules for the oil and gas industry, but there can be a downside to these rules as well. More rules will delay extraction, and will likely lead to a smaller amount of oil extracted, but at a higher price."

Geoff Styles provided accident statistics on his blog Energy Outlook as well as The Energy Collective, and concluded:

"Even vigorous efforts to reduce oil consumption (and its associated emissions) by improving fuel economy and ramping up renewable energy do not diminish the need to produce as much oil from domestic sources as we can."

Byron King, whose article at Agora Financial we profiled last week, wrote a very clear description of risers in the deepwater production areas of the Gulf of Mexico and reminded his readers that offshore energy development contains risks.

"Deep-water drilling is a high-stakes game...With each deep well, these risks all come together over one very tiny spot at the bottom of the ocean. So for all the oil that's out there under deep water -- and it's a lot -- the long-term calculus of risk and return is difficult to quantify...For now, I'll just send out collective best wishes to the people at Transocean, BP, the Coast Guard, Minerals..."

While the risks are great, the benefits to the American people are incalculable. Oil and natural gas fuel our economy, provide millions of jobs, provide chemicals for medicines and thousands of other consumer products that safeguard the health and well-being of all Americans.

The people of the oil and natural industry do their best to prevent accidents, protect the environment, and supply affordable, reliable energy where you need it, when you need it, every single day.

Read more Information about the industry's safety procedures and safety record.