Meeting the Environmental Challenge: Oil and Natural Gas Operations in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is an incredibly rich resource. It provides food, energy, jobs, transportation, recreation and government revenue. Half of all the goods shipped in and out of the United States pass through the Gulf. The earth beneath its waters is the source of 25 percent of the crude oil produced in the United States and 15 percent of the natural gas. That makes the Gulf an essential source of the fuel that gives us the freedom to drive where we want when we want, to keep our homes comfortable and well lit and to run our offices and factories.

Oil and natural gas also provide the raw material from which countless products are made. They include medicines that conquer infectious diseases, medical equipment that helps us heal, eyeglasses and contact lenses that help us see. These products also include adhesives, building materials, plastics, propane, clothing, auto parts, computers, VCRs, TVs and telephones. Oil and natural gas are the lifeblood of America’s mobile, technological, communications-intensive society.

Protecting the Gulf, its marine species and the 42 million people who live in the states around its perimeter is a national imperative. With over 3500 oil and natural gas platforms on the continental shelf and continental slope of the central and western Gulf, petroleum industry operations are under close scrutiny and are highly regulated. Offshore operators are required to obtain 17 major permits and follow 90 sets of federal regulations, as well as meet state requirements.

To get a better understanding of the challenges, the American Petroleum Institute (API) asked LGL Ecological Research Associates, Inc. to summarize the extensive research that documents the effects of the oil and natural gas industry’s operations on the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting study, Environmental Trends in the Gulf of Mexico in the Twentieth Century: The Role of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry (file size 8.4 MB) by Benny J. Gallaway, Ph.D., and others, assembled in one place a review of more than 200 federal, state, scholarly and industry analyses of the Gulf ‘s problems and how they relate to oil and gas activities. The report examined 11 major environmental and health topics from water quality to public health issues. The LGL report enables the oil and gas industry to assess its past performance and identify its challenges for the future. The report is also designed to improve public understanding of the facts.The studies that were examined conclude that the offshore oil and natural gas industry is a good steward of the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the industry’s operations have little adverse impact on the Gulf, on marine life, on endangered species, or on the quality of the water and air. The studies also reported that wherever petroleum industry operations had been found to be causing a problem, the industry, in conjunction with government, had taken the extra steps necessary to limit any damage.

The findings of the LGL study have been summarized in a 28-page report titled Meeting the Environmental Challenge: Oil and Natural Gas Operations in the Gulf of Mexico (file size 7.3MB) This report includes brief discussions of nine key environmental issues that explore the role of the oil and natural gas industry in the environment of the Gulf of Mexico. The topics are wetlands, water quality, oil spills, hypoxia, declining fish catch, endangered species, contaminated fish, air quality and marine debris. A shorter, summary version of the report is also available (file size 8.1 MB). Each of these reports are free for users to download.

The offshore oil and natural gas industry, like its counterpart onshore, takes its responsibility to protect the environment seriously. We understand that we must do far more than develop and deliver its resources. We must also demonstrate that we are protecting the planet, its flora, its fauna and its people. That’s why oil and natural gas companies and their employees have made environmental stewardship and protecting health and safety a core part of their mission – and part of their daily business plan. The offshore industry's environmental record has improved markedly since its birth in 1947, and as our knowledge and technology continues to grow our impact on the environment will be lessened. We are better today than yesterday and will be better tomorrow than today.