Chevron oil spill shows the risk of drilling in pre-salt deposits

A growing offshore oil spill continues to threaten the delicate marine environment off the coast of Brazil. Despite the magnitude of the disaster, and its likelihood to upset the regional ecosystem, authorities are still yet to determine its cause, its true size, or the extent of the environmental damage. In any case, it is bound to be great.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (Catholic Online) - The spill occurred in an area which is rich in fish and other marine life. Officials are still working to ascertain the extent of the damage to regional ecosystems. There is no question however, that the final report will be devastating.

The oil spill occurred in an offshore region known to many as the "pre-salt oil reserves." Pre-salt oil reserves are recently discovered deep-sea oil deposits which are difficult to reach that are believed to contain millions of barrels of oil.

The spill took place on a Chevron platform, on November 7, and government officials blame the "geological complexity" of the pre-salt deposit for the disaster. They also note that it is unclear if the spill has actually been contained despite the fact that the disaster has been ongoing for over a month.

The Brazilian government has previously expressed willingness to tap into the pre-salt reserves as a source of revenue for the government. In fact, as news of the spill broke the government was in the process of debating how to spend monies collected from drilling.

The Brazilian government has suspended Chevron's drilling activities in the area until the cause of the disaster can be ascertained and responsibility assigned. If the disaster is shown to have been caused by human negligence, those convicted could face jail time and a multimillion dollar fine.

The Brazilian people, and the drilling companies must carefully reevaluate whether or not they are prepared to tap into the pre-salt reserves. The pre-salt reserves provide a challenge to oil companies because they can exist at depths around 7000 meters. While the oil is of very high quality, it's extreme depths and the fact that it's offshore, means that it is difficult to obtain. Additionally, because the oil is offshore the threat to the environment in the event of a mishap is extreme -- as is being seen today.

Common sense and a modicum of environmental and personal responsibility would suggest that none should attempt to drilling in the pre-salt reserves until they are absolutely certain they can safely extract the oil without significant risk of damaging the environment.  Just now, it appears evident that such a statement cannot yet be made.

Still, the lure of oil money especially given the relatively high price for oil on commodities markets, means that both governments and corporations are more willing to take risks because the profits are so great. Unfortunately, the risks these companies take do not simply involve governments and corporations alone. The risk is a common risk shared by all. Hapless marine animals, aquatic plant life, and even millions of people who depend on the health and integrity of those environments for their livelihood and survival, have a stake in the decision to drill for offshore oil.

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Until governments and corporations can provide reasonable assurance that they can safely tap into these resources in a manner which compensates people and the environment upon which they depend for survival, the decision to drill in the sensitive ecological areas should be suspended.

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