PLATFORM : Less Risk Offshore

The oil companies spend major dollars building facilities and getting permits, then the environmentalists come along and stall it.

The approach we took (on past drilling) was well-thought and well-engineered. The public needs to be aware of the safety factors. We have a tanker incident in Alaska and one in Long Beach--those were not a result of drilling and production, they were a result of shipping. If people have a great concern about a ship rupturing, then they should take a look at what I consider to be a safer alternative, and that’s through a pipeline.

You can’t compare the old Oklahoma days of crude oil with what’s happening offshore today. An offshore operation is so technologically oriented, and the platforms are being directed by such highly trained engineers, that the risk to the environment has been considerably lessened.