Impact of Oil Drilling Painted as Dismal : Study of Offshore Wells Predicts at Least One Major Accident

Tanker traffic off California would increase 41% if a federal moratorium on oil drilling is lifted and at least one major accident would result, according to a study conducted for six coastal counties stretching from Sonoma to Monterey.

“The conclusions are rather grim,” San Francisco Supervisor Angela Alioto said of the report released today. In a statement, Alioto said the counties “wanted an independent assessment of the impacts from offshore oil drilling.”

The $95,000 study--done for Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties--claimed that oil exploration would be centered near wildlife areas such as Ano Nuevo State Preserve, a principal breeding area for elephant seals.

Oil-drilling platforms would be as big as two football fields and capable of supporting up to 50 wells, the study said, adding that 100,000 tons of contaminated waste would spill onto the ocean floor over the 15- to 20-year life of the wells.

The report also predicted that as many as five processing ships would be permanently anchored along the coast to handle the oil and gas.

It forecast at least four major incidents from offshore drilling, including at least one tanker accident and one platform leak of 100,000 gallons.

“We were very careful not to exaggerate the risks,” said Warner Chabot, the environmental planning consultant for the regional studies consortium formed by the six counties. “We retained the same geologists and the same consultants who prepare studies for the oil industry.”

Representatives of the oil industry insisted exploration can be done in an environmentally safe manner.

Besides, said Larry Shushan, a spokesman for Chevron, “there aren’t very many places that haven’t been explored.”

The counties would be affected by offshore oil operations in an area known as Lease Sale 119. The U.S. Department of Interior has been trying to hold Lease Sale 119 for years. The sale was originally scheduled in 1984.

Two other proposed lease sales off the California coast--one from Mendocino County north to the Oregon border, the other from Monterey County to the Mexican border-- have been shelved indefinitely.