Dangers to United States of Lower Oil Prices

Thank you for running Ernest Conine’s excellent piece (Editorial Pages, Aug. 4), “Good Luck, OPEC, But Not Too Good,” on the dangers of lower oil prices. As Conine points out, we are faced with a major disruption of the American oil industry--reduced production, limited exploration, high unemployment and increasing numbers of bank failures.

In addition, we are losing the skills of talented people, research and development programs, and established companies that cannot afford to stay in business. As the price of oil remains low, the health of our oil industry continues to decline. We are rapidly losing the ability to provide for our own energy needs. Once again, imports are on the rise, now at 40%.

The current world oil glut will not last indefinitely. New domestic resources must be developed to avoid possible disruptions when the world oil market tightens.

Experts believe that at least 50% of new oil discoveries will have to come from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to meet U.S. energy needs in the 1990s and beyond.

The California outer shelf offers this country’s best chance to make significant oil discoveries in the lower 48 states. Geologists agree that at least 2 billion to 4 billion more barrels of oil equivalent may still be found off California; some say as much as 10 billion barrels.

A Times editorial (July 31), “Offshore Dilemma,” correctly pointed out that California has a responsibility to produce oil for the future from offshore areas. However, while acknowledging the responsibility of California to produce offshore oil, you support Congressman Leon Panetta’s (D-Carmel Valley) proposal, which offers only 173 offshore tracts--mostly far from shore, in deep waters--for lease through the year 2000.

That is bad public policy. The Department of the Interior reports that the resources potential of those tracts represents only about 5% of the total California offshore potential.

We agree with The Times that members of Congress should not be negotiating which tracts should be leased. An orderly offshore program is needed. Let’s allow the leasing process that Congress created in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to work.

If we continue listening to those people who will do anything not to have offshore development, we only will have ourselves to blame when the next oil crisis hits.

R. ROBERT HARRIS

Orange

Harris is chairman of the California Pro-Leasing Task Force of the National Ocean Industries Assn.