The final programmatic environmental impact statement the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued for geological and geophysical activities in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 4 took at least two US oil and gas groups by surprise. The American Petroleum Institute quickly followed the International Association of Geophysical Contractors in denouncing it.
"While we appreciate BOEM moving forward in this process, today's decision is based on a flawed interpretation of scientific data," API Senior Offshore Policy Advisor Andy Radford said at the time.
"It also disregards the fact that the oil and gas industry has been conducting safe, effective seismic research in the Gulf of Mexico for decades with effective mitigation measures that provide strong protections to marine life," he maintained. "We urge BOEM to consider these important facts as this process continues."
Four days later, however, another BOEM release revealed why this final PEIS looked so unsuitable to offshore producers and associated services providers: It tried to satisfy a comment BOEM made in 2013 with the Natural Resources Defense Council and other parties to settle a lawsuit so it could continue to authorize oil and gas G&G activities in the gulf.
In other words, this program that IAGC and API found so questionable was the product of the sue-and-settle strategy the NRDC and similar groups have pursued for several years now. Financially-strapped federal agencies accept it because it lets them use money they would have spent in court on keeping their own activities going.
Environmental groups like it because these settlements-under-duress let them exert influence on scientific studies which are supposed to be objective and impartial. Congressional Republicans from producing states periodically introduce bills aimed at curbing the practice.
Meanwhile, the federal agency charged with the actual oil and gas leasing in the gulf must navigate between a rock (an industry that has dramatically improved its ability to find oil and gas offshore in the last decade) and a hard place (organizations that simply don't want it there at all).
Others shoot seismic
In addition to the oil and gas industry, seismic surveys are commonly used by the US Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and the offshore wind industry, according to API. A rigorous permitting process ensures that seismic surveys are properly managed and conducted so they have minimal impact on the marine environment, it said.
"Our industry remains committed to improving the scientific understanding of the impacts of our operations on marine life," said Radford. "Seismic surveying in the Gulf of Mexico is a critical part of safe offshore energy development that is necessary if we are to continue to harness our nation's energy potential."
