Offshore drilling becomes NC campaign issue

This summer, fracking, a controversial natural gas extraction process, was legalized in North Carolina.

Now, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory aim to bring another contentious energy policy to the state — offshore drilling.

As part of his plan for North America to become energy independent by 2020, Romney would end the current moratorium on the oil-extracting process in the Carolinas and Virginia.

Robert Reid, the N.C. spokesman for Romney’s campaign, said the candidate favors an “all of the above” energy policy, which means pursuing natural gas, oil, solar energy and wind energy.

The N.C. coast is projected to contain 1.7 billion barrels of oil, according to the Minerals Management Service.

“(President Barack) Obama waged wars on fossil fuels and picked winners and losers in the energy sector,” Reid said.

He said Obama’s federal spending on “green” energy has not provided a good return on investment.

Offshore drilling would help alleviate unemployment, Reid said. The state had a 9.7 percent unemployment rate in August.

The Southeast Energy Alliance, a nonpartisan group of energy-related businesses and nonprofits, estimates that offshore energy could create 6,700 jobs in North Carolina.

But the state cannot collect royalties on oil profits under current federal laws.

Reid said he was unsure if Romney would work to enable the state to collect royalties.

“He has a track record of engaging everyone — as president, he will represent 100 percent of America,” Reid added.

Brian Nick, spokesman for McCrory’s campaign, said McCrory would pursue offshore drilling regardless of whether Romney is elected. Nick said oil exploration is an economic opportunity for the state.

“While other states are getting involved in the energy industry, North Carolina is getting further and further behind,” Nick said.

But N.C. environmental advocacy groups fear offshore drilling could cause environmental damage similar to the 2010 British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, spokesman for the N.C. Sierra Club chapter, said offshore drilling is not worth the environmental and economic risks.

“The state has a huge tourism industry,” he said. “A spill would be devastating to our economy and environment.”

Reid said Romney supports some drilling regulations but thinks the current federal moratorium on offshore drilling goes too far.

“A lot of the concerns were heightened in the BP disaster,” Reid said. “Unfortunately, this provided the political context for the Obama administration’s green policy.”

Reid said the moratorium has cost $1 billion in lost revenue.

“We can be safe and put in place regulations without blocking everything and losing the opportunity for energy independence and millions of jobs,” he said.

But environmental concerns with offshore drilling extend beyond the risk of an oil spill.

Marc Alperin, a marine sciences professor at UNC, said Romney and McCrory’s plans do not address climate change concerns.

He said the plans will perpetuate reliance on burning fossil fuels, which results in increased carbon emissions.

“Given enough time, every drop of oil in the ground will come out,” he said. “Fifty to 100 years from now, the N.C. coast will be unrecognizable.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.