. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. one expects another Prudhoe Bay off the North Carolina coast. The draft Environmental Impact Statement issued for Lease Sale 78 estimates (based on Geological Survey in- formation) that if the area leased is hydrocarbon productive, a mean total of 228 million barrels of oil and 860 billion cubic feet of natural gas may be discovered. In 1980, Americans used over 15 million barrels of oil a day— more than a fourth of the worldwide production of 60 million barrels a day. But Waldorf is hesitant to put m
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. one expects another Prudhoe Bay off the North Carolina coast. The draft Environmental Impact Statement issued for Lease Sale 78 estimates (based on Geological Survey in- formation) that if the area leased is hydrocarbon productive, a mean total of 228 million barrels of oil and 860 billion cubic feet of natural gas may be discovered. In 1980, Americans used over 15 million barrels of oil a day— more than a fourth of the worldwide production of 60 million barrels a day. But Waldorf is hesitant to put much stock in estimated production rates. "We won't know what's out there until we drill," she says. But she points out oil companies are willing to put out millions of dollars to buy leases (as a consortium Mobil, Amerada Hess and Marathon Oil paid over $103 million for a single tract) to find out. And she estimates to explore a lease will cost another $25 million per exploratory well. But even if oil and gas are dis- covered it would be another 10 years before actual production would begin, Waldorf predicts. And she stresses that substantial quantities of oil and gas would have to be found to justify the high cost of production—$160 million to build a platform and $1 million a mile to build a pipeline to transport the hyrdocarbons landward. And the possibility remains that nothing will be found. Six wells drilled in the Georgia Embayment turned up dry. But sediment layers there were shallow. Waldorf says even if the first Chevron well is dry, the geologic infor- mation gleaned from the attempt could direct future drillings to more profitable areas. Right now geologists and oil com- panies are depending on seismic studies to direct their exploration. Drucker and Riggs say there is a greater likelihood of turning up gas than oil. Riggs says gas is more easily produced in nature and more gas has been discovered in East Coast basins than oil. But Woodard disagrees. &
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
