(Updated with more specifics on the dangers of oil rigs and rocket launches.)
By Susan Daker Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is protesting a proposal to lease offshore Virginia for oil and natural gas development over concerns that drilling would interfere with rockets' flight patterns.
NASA fears that giant platforms would interfere with low-altitude suborbital rockets or make missile launchings from its Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. much more difficult, Keith Koehler, a NASA spokesman, told Dow Jones Newswires.
On Wednesday, the U.S Minerals Management Service kicked off a 45-day comment-seeking period, an early step toward a proposed lease sale of waters 50 miles off the coast of Virginia. The area could hold 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, MMS Director Randall Luthi said during a conference call Wednesday morning. The sale could take place as early as 2011.
"Opening this area for lease would create substantial risk to private investments in oil and gas drilling infrastructure," NASA wrote in a letter to MMS. NASA is concerned that any mishaps with missiles, supersonic or subsonic vehicles could be "catastrophic" for employees and expensive energy infrastructure. Currently, some of the area proposed for lease is restricted and is monitored for unauthorized vessels, Koehler said.
NASA first raised concerns over the project in 2006, Koehler said. Leasing tracks off the coast of Virginia has been part of the MMS's five-year plan for 2007-2012, even though Congress had banned drilling off the coast of that state.
The ban has been lifted and the project's impact to aeronautic research has grown.
"Since 2006, launches from the WFF have grown in number, not only due to NASA work but also due to other U.S. Government and commercial launches, so the potential adverse impact of offshore drilling on planned critical launches is greater than it was in 2006," NASA wrote in a statement dated Sept. 17.
Wallops Island is a barrier island located south of the Virginia-Maryland border. The Wallops Flight Facility was established in 1945.
During this month's elections, both Democratic and Republican candidates in Virginia pledged support for natural gas drilling off the coast of their state. During the news conference, Luthi said the sale was recommended by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat.
The American Petroleum Institute, an energy industry group, contends that, in July, 70% of Virginians supported increased production.
"The industry has proven it can develop these resources in an environmentally safe manner," the API said in a statement. "With energy consumption expected to grow in the coming decades, America needs access to its untapped domestic resources. Beginning the process of leasing offshore Virginia is a good start."
This summer brought record oil prices. Americans were outraged over gasoline prices that topped $4 a gallon, prompting calls for increased drillings. Prices have since plunged, easing some of the political pressure for more U.S. energy production.
Despite the decrease in prices, Luthi of the MMS said drilling off the coast of Virginia is an "important step in national security."
"Our demand for energy is going to increase," she said.
MMS is required to seek comment from stakeholders before moving forward with the process and plans to work with NASA, Luthi said.
The new presidential administration under President-elect Barack Obama could veto the MMS plan, Luthi said.
Obama's advisors have already indicated the President-elect may undo newly approved leases for drilling on environmentally sensitive land in southern Utah, according to published reports. Obama came out in support of increased drilling, as a way to wean the U.S. off foreign oil supplies, during the election campaign, but is seen to be more sensitive to environmental issues than the current administration.
"As every administration goes through, there is always a change," Luthi said.
-By Susan Daker, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9208; susan.daker@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 12, 2008 16:34 ET (21:34 GMT)

Publié le 12 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones