Tankers Are Cheapest Way to Ship Offshore Oil--Study

As oil from a ruptured tanker laps at the beaches of Orange County, a final study released Friday supports Chevron Corp.’s argument that it would be cheaper to ship crude oil by tanker from its Point Arguello offshore project than by pipeline or other means.

The study, completed by consultants Arthur D. Little Inc. for Santa Barbara County, concludes that it would cost $2.55 to $2.65 a barrel for tankers to carry oil to Los Angeles from the $2-billion project.

Three drilling platforms were built off the Santa Barbara County coast and other aspects of the project were completed two years ago. But no oil has been produced, and regulators continue to wrangle over the transportation issue.

Options other than using tankers--including shipping the oil by various combinations of pipelines and rail routes--could cost between $2.85 and $6.25 per barrel according to the $400,000 study, which was commissioned by the county and paid for by Chevron.

Tanker opponents--including environmental groups and pipeline operators--argued that the study underestimated the costs of using tankers and overestimated the costs of pipeline shipment.

Even if tankering is cheaper, Chevron “should bear some of the expense for being environmentally safer,” said Carole Ann Cole, spokeswoman for Get Oil Out, a local group opposed to the use of tankers.

Chevron was pleased with the findings. But spokesman G. Michael Marcy did not expect any quick decision on the company’s request for a tanker permit--particularly in the wake of the Orange County spill.

The study was conducted as part of the county’s process of reviewing a permit request by Chevron to tanker oil from the project, which is owned by a consortium of 18 oil companies. An earlier permit was revoked by the state Coastal Commission after protests from community groups.