Offshore Drill Pros And Cons

Since the 1800s, natural resources have been collected from oceans by using offshore drills (Offshore). While this new innovation created jobs and bolstered coastal economies, it also produced a new, looming threat to marine wildlife and coastal economies. In 1967, the first major oil spill occurred off of the coast of the Isles of Scilly, when 38 million gallons of oil were spilled into surrounding waters. Including this incident, 36 major spills have occurred since 1967, exposing marine environments to at least one trillion gallons of oil (Oil). Now, it is being debated about whether or not to drill for natural resources off of the Southeastern Coast. In my opinion, companies should not be allowed to drill off of the Southeastern Coast because the benefits gained from drilling would not outweigh the detrimental environmental and economic impact. It is difficult to find a report which explicitly states the exact amounts of natural resources located off of the Southeastern coast, but there are a few places which reference what may be available. An article by Jaime McClain posted in August of 2015 states, “All of the economically recoverable oil and gas believed to exist off of South Carolina would last for only six days based on current domestic …show more content…
First, the collection of oil from the Southeastern Coast will add to the supply of American oil, and could possibly lower local gas prices (Pros). These rigs would create jobs for locals, and attract new residents as families move closer for work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009, between 500 and 5,000 or more jobs have been brought to coastal communities which have oil rigs offshore (Fact). This would also help stimulate coastal economies. While it costs around $550,000 a day to run an oil rig, this cost would be covered by the company doing the drilling, and not the people in the communities affected