Don Briggs – Louisiana Oil & Gas Association -

The current situation in the Gulf of Mexico brought about by BP’s recent offshore platform disaster is certainly a tragic event. The well blowout and sinking of the Deep Horizon drilling rig off Louisiana’s coast has led to the death of 11 people and now threatens numerous and precious coastal zones.

With any disastrous event, it’s important to focus on the task at hand and solve the problem. Unfortunately, this event has renewed and heightened the debate in Washington over the need and expansion of offshore drilling.

At a time when action should be taken, this should not be a time to play politics. BP is taking every appropriate step to lead this cleanup. Taking full responsibility, the company has acknowledged taking on the entire cost of this effort. BP chief executive, Tony Hayward stated, “We are taking full responsibility for the spill and we will clean it up and where people can present legitimate claims for damages we will honor them.” With assistance from federal, state and local officials, this accident will be corrected and hopefully have less of an environmental impact as projected.

As it is important to find out what happened and determine what new safeguards must be put in place to prevent something of this magnitude, this should not serve as a moment for political posturing and grand standing. Some politicians, like Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla, are using this catastrophe to prompt a moratorium on new offshore drilling. Others, like Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, defended offshore drilling by comparing this latest disaster to the Challenger space shuttle explosion. The Louisiana senator stated, “What we did not do is end the space program. We did not stop launching. We did not stop exploring. We have to find a way to make sure it never happens again.”

As we move forward and attempt to clean up the spill, it’s important we all act on logic and not emotion. Although the environmental impact of this event may be significant, it should not underplay the importance of expanding and developing our domestic oil and gas reserves. With any risky pursuit, the potential for human error and accident is always a possibility.

Although former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has made her stance clear on offshore drilling, she makes a very valid point. In response to the BP spill, Palin stated, “How could I still believe in drilling America’s domestic supply of energy after having seen the devastation of the Exxon-Valdez spill? I continue to believe in it because increased domestic oil production will make us a more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation.”

By no means should we downplay the tragic events that occurred on April 20. However, it’s important to note that the larger problem exists. Any measure to place a moratorium on offshore drilling will do less to prevent environmental disasters and do more to perpetuate our continual dependency on foreign sources of energy.