Offshore ecology investigations

Abstract

This was a slide presentation that summarized some of the results of the Gulf Universities Research Consortium research effort The Impact of Oil Drilling and Production in Timbalier Bay, Lousiana and Southward in the Northcentral Gulf of Mexico, 1972–1974.“Based upon the data analyses thus far, several general conclusions can be reached from this comprehensive Offshore Ecology Intestgation: 1) It questions the universal necessity for conducting a ‘before-the-fact’ baseline study to subsequently determine the environmental impact of this type of man’s activity. 2) Natural phenomena such as seasonality, floods, upwellings, and turbid layers have much greater impact upon the ecosystem than do petroleum drilling and production activities. 3) Concentrations of all compounds of OEI [Offsore Ecology Investigation] interest that are in any way related to drilling or production are suffiencielty low to present no known persistent biological hazards. 4) Every indication of good ecological health is present. The region of the sampling sites is a highly productive one from the biological standpoint, more so than other regions thus far studied in the Eastern and open Gulf of Mexico. 5) Timbalier Bay has not undergone significant ecological change as a result of petroleum drilling and production since just prior to 1952, when other, more limited baseline data were generated.”