Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan

Climate-energy bill affected?

The spill also worsens political prospects for Obama's energy policy, which is tied to sweeping climate-energy legislation pending in the Senate. The bill curbs fossil fuel use overall, but it also allows for expanded offshore drilling, which is meant to win Republican and some industry support. That allowance may now become problematic.

"We would suggest the Gulf spill has made the political hurdles [for the climate-energy bill] ... even higher," wrote Kevin Book in a newsletter analysis Friday for ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington energy market research firm. Offshore drilling, he wrote, may have shifted "from political lubricant to political toxin."

The oil disaster – which killed 11 workers in the April 20 rig explosion and may damage hundreds of wildlife species – may cause senators to shift against the offshore drilling proposals contained in the energy-climate legislation, some environmentalists say.

"We're dealing with what could become one of the most destructive oil spills in US history," says Richard Charter, a spokesman for Defenders of Wildlife who specializes in offshore drilling issues. "The Santa Barbara spill [in 1969] led to bipartisan support for a moratorium on offshore drilling that lasted 27 years. This spill could be economically and ecologically much larger than that."

Much depends on how bad the spill gets. "The offshore drilling plan will have to be looked at in the light of how bad this gets," says the CSIS's Pumphrey. "The White House will have to see if it still makes sense politically to move forward on that."

Concerns about Arctic offshore drilling, too

The spill in the Gulf is raising questions about whether the oil industry can drill safely in deep water, but also whether it's safe to drill in Arctic waters, wrote Rep. James Moran (D) of Virginia, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Interior and Environment, in a Thursday letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

"If the drilling industry is incapable of capping a blowout in temperate waters in a region with more than 80 years of offshore experience in the close proximity of equipment, manpower and technical expertise, I have grave doubts about the industry’s response capabilities in the frigid Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast," Representative Moran wrote.

Shell Oil officials told the Associated Press that the company does not expect the Gulf spill to delay permits for drilling this summer in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska's north coast. "We don't have any reason to believe those outstanding permits will be impacted by recent events in the Gulf of Mexico," said Curtis Smith, Shell Oil's Alaska spokesman.

But presidential advisers, in remarks Friday morning, left the door open to a shift, depending on the outcome of investigations of the spill.

"Obviously, what's occurring now will also be taken into consideration as the administration looks to advance that [offshore leasing] plan – and what makes sense and what might need to be adjusted."

Related:

• Oil spill: Gulf of Mexico disaster holds big liabilities for BP
• As Gulf of Mexico oil spill hits land, residents decry response
• Oil spill: What is the threat to Gulf of Mexico seafood?
• Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be bigger than Exxon Valdez

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