Post by karlsie on Feb 17, 2012 0:56:27 GMT -5
Exploratory drilling has only just begun on the Beaufort Sea and they are already running into problems. news.yahoo.com/water-gas-continue-flowing-alaska-blowout-003904845.html
Of shore drilling is much different than onshore, where you at least have a stable environment. Off shore drilling is far different in the Arctic, where freezing temperatures can slow down the flow, and the tides and currents are enormously strong, is far different than drilling off a more temperate zone. There has been very little offshore from Prudhoe for this reason, which at least would offer shallow water, but in the Beaufort, you're in open sea, with crest surges that can reach twenty feet high in a mild storm. I think they are fools. It would be cheaper and easier to tap our incredibly abundant natural gas resources and less risky to open up ANWR.
Of shore drilling is much different than onshore, where you at least have a stable environment. Off shore drilling is far different in the Arctic, where freezing temperatures can slow down the flow, and the tides and currents are enormously strong, is far different than drilling off a more temperate zone. There has been very little offshore from Prudhoe for this reason, which at least would offer shallow water, but in the Beaufort, you're in open sea, with crest surges that can reach twenty feet high in a mild storm. I think they are fools. It would be cheaper and easier to tap our incredibly abundant natural gas resources and less risky to open up ANWR.
