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Mon: McCrory favors offshore wells
posted at 2008-06-30 10:38 | Last modified 2008-06-30 13:04
Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory announced this morning he's in favor of "deep sea" drilling off NC's coast, and would sign an executive order opening the coast. From his release:
“The Manteo Project is 45 miles off our coast on the Continental Shelf. Exploration of this area indicates there are nearly 1.5 billion barrels of oil or equivalent gas in the Manteo Project. It has further been projected that it is most likely to generate natural gas, and could contain as much as 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas which is equivalent to 833 billion barrels of oil.
“Drilling in the deep sea at the Manteo Project would be far beyond the ability to see from shore. If natural gas is discovered, it is free from the spills the alarmists predict. The product would be piped away from the coastal counties to more inland eastern counties for processing. Tourism will not be affected and jobs would be in areas where they are most needed. "
The full release is here. Can't wait to hear what Senate Pro Tem Marc "the man from Manteo" Basnight has to say about this.
If the "Manteo Project" rings a bell, think back to 1989, when Peter Applebome wrote this story about it for the New York Times. The more things change...
Update: NCDENR has a quick backgrounder here, plus a 2005 presentation on offshore drilling from the Div. of Coastal Management.
Update 2: Forgot to mention that Dem candidate Bev Perdue is "100% opposed" to the idea.
I'll ask McCrory this afternoon where he's getting his figures. Anything else I should ask him? Let me know.
