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Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress
recent history-the IXTOC I, estimated at 140 million gallons-was due to an oil well blowout in
Mexican Gulf Coast waters in 1979.140
Until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, the spill record for offshore platforms in U.S. federal
waters had shown improvement from prior years.141 A 2003 National Research Council (NRC)
study of oil and gas activities on Alaska's North Slope stated "blowouts that result in large spills
are unlikely."142 Similar conclusions were made in federal agency documents regarding deepwater
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico before the 2010 Deepwater Horizon event.143 Some would likely
contend that the underlying analyses behind these conclusions should be adjusted to account for
the 2010 Gulf oil spill. However, others may argue that the proposed activities in U.S. Arctic
waters present less risk of an oil well blowout than was encountered by the Deepwater Horizon
drill rig, because the proposed U.S. Arctic operations would be in shallower waters (150 feet)
than the deepwater well (approximately 5,000 feet) that was involved in the 2010 Gulf oil spill. In
addition, Shell Oil has stated that the pressures in the Chukchi Sea (the location of Shell's recent
interest) would be two to three times less than they were in well involved in the 2010 Gulf oil
spill.144 Regardless of these differences, even under the most stringent control systems, some oil
spills and other accidents are likely to occur from equipment failure or human error.
Potential Impacts
No oil spill is entirely benign. Even a relatively minor spill, depending on the timing and location,
can cause significant harm to individual organisms and entire populations. Regarding aquatic
spills, marine mammals, birds, bottom-dwelling and intertidal species, and organisms in early
developmental stages-eggs or larvae-are especially vulnerable. However, the effects of oil
spills can vary greatly. Oil spills can cause impacts over a range of time scales, from only a few
days to several years, or even decades in some cases.
Conditions in the Arctic may have implications for toxicological effects that are not yet
understood. For example, oil spills on permafrost may persist in an ecosystem for relatively long
periods of time, potentially harming plant life through their root systems. Moreover, little is
known about the effects of oil spills on species that are unique to the Arctic, particularly, species'
abilities to thrive in a cold environment and the effect temperature has on toxicity.145
The effects of oil spills in high-latitude, cold-ocean environments may last longer and cause
greater damage than expected. Some recent studies have found that oil spills in lower latitudes
have persisted for longer than initially expected, thus raising the concern that the persistence of
140 National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies of Science, Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and
Effects (2003).
141 See CRS Report RL33705, Oil Spills: Background and Governance, by Jonathan L. Ramseur; and Dagmar Etkin
(Environmental Research Consulting), Analysis of U.S. Oil Spillage, Prepared for American Petroleum Institute,
August 2009.
142 National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas
Activities on Alaska's North Slope (2003).
143 See, for example, Minerals Management Service (MMS), Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program:
2007-2012, Final Environmental Impact Statement, April 2007, Chapter 4; MMS, Proposed Gulf of Mexico OCS Oil
and Gas Lease Sale 206, Central Planning Area, Environmental Assessment, October 2007.
144 Letter from Marvin E. Odum, President, Shell Oil Company to S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, Minerals Management
Service (May 14, 2010). Cited in a staff paper from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
and Offshore Drilling ("The Challenges of Oil Spill Response in the Arctic," January 2011).
145 AMAP, Arctic Oil and Gas 2007 (2008).Congressional Research Service 35
Congressional Research Service
35
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O'Rourke, Ronald. Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress, report, August 1, 2018; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248258/m1/40/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.