Gulf of Mexico drilling harmful beyond estimations – study
New research found the climate impact of oil and gas production in Gulf of Mexico is twice the stated estimates, as it also explained climate impact is excerpted by the lack of old equipment’s maintenance among other factors.
The effect is especially caused by shallow-water platforms collecting and processing oil and gas. Deeper facilities cause less intense carbon.
Director of the Lands Protection Programme at the Sierra Club, Athan Manuel told CNN “this study underscores what we’ve long known to be true: offshore drilling in the Gulf puts coastal communities at risk and threatens devastating and irreversible harm to our climate.”
Eric Kort, one of the report authors referred to the report’s finding about the majority of emissions coming from “one class of facilities.” This, accordingly, means it is relatively easier to tackle the issue through “targeted” measures.
Measures proposed by the report include renovating equipment, abandoning platforms which cannot be repaired, and replacing venting with efficient flaring.
The Inflation Reduction Act signed by American administration last year included provisions related specifically to the Gulf of Mexico. These provisions enabled the inclusion of more areas in the Gulf for gas and oil drilling.
However, it is legally required that climate impacts are taken into consideration in drilling decisions. An 80-million-acre oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico was deemed invalid in 2022 for not complying with this rule.
