91制片厂

Within hours of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, media outlets across the country were trying to reach 91制片厂鈥檚 Nancy Kinner. A month later, she was testifying before Congress. Now the professor of civil and environmental engineering and expert in oil spill response and restoration has become a media go-to for questions regarding the Trump administration鈥檚 move to open Atlantic waters to offshore drilling exploration, and what would have to happen for a plan to move forward.

鈥淭he key question is exactly where would that drilling occur?鈥� Kinner says. 鈥淯nless conditions change a lot, the New Hampshire coast probably would not be the first place where drilling would be desirable 鈥� for a lot of factors.鈥�

Among those are determining that sufficient amounts of oil exist, getting a production rig out there and having the infrastructure to deliver oil being produced. 鈥淚n the Gulf of Mexico, for example, a lot of that oil is pumped back onshore through pipelines. On the East Coast, we don鈥檛 have any offshore wells or the infrastructure. And that is a major investment,鈥� Kinner explains.

Even before that, Kinner says, the process to move forward with any plan for leases would be a lengthy one. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking years even without any court cases,鈥� she says. But, she stresses, a long approval process does not mean there isn鈥檛 reason for concern. 鈥淚 am saying there will be a process, and we need to be paying attention to that process.鈥�

The potential for a spill could prove to be a financial deterrent to expansion as well. 鈥淥il companies have to have a plan for that as part of this process. They have to be able to show the ability to control if something goes wrong,鈥� Kinner says. 鈥淚ndustry invested in a capping stack for the Gulf of Mexico. We don鈥檛 have that infrastructure anywhere off the Atlantic coast. This will be highly scrutinized.鈥�

Could drilling happen?

鈥淵es, it could,鈥� Kinner says. 鈥淐ould it happen in the next couple of years? Probably not.鈥�

听

Originally published in