Force, says there are no plans for any 

 major onshore facilities such as a 

 refinery. And even if oil companies go 

 all the way to production of oil, the 

 direct benefits to North Carolina 

 would be minimal. 



But he doesn't exclude the 

 possibility of North Carolina gaining 

 from the oil exploration since any 

 offshore oil operation has to have an 

 onshore support base. (Morehead City 

 has been chosen as the site for a sup- 

 port base.) 



As development offshore increases, 

 says Vernon, onshore activity will in- 

 crease and that will generate some 

 revenues in the state. 



Angela Waldorf, associate director 

 of the N.C. Petroleum Council, says 

 local merchants will benefit when the 

 oil companies contract for services for 

 employees on the drill ship. 



Chevron, the company first in line 

 to begin drilling, estimates it will be 

 buying food for three meals a day for a 

 crew of 100 as well as supplies to main- 

 tain the drill ship. 



But as for local residents looking to 

 land a job on an oil rig, Waldorf says 

 that probably won't happen because 

 the state's work force isn't technically 

 trained for oil drilling. 



Most of the workers will be from 

 out-of-state. They'll work on a rig for 

 two weeks, then take a helicopter to 

 the airport and fly home. 



The federal government stands to 

 gain considerably from offshore oil ex- 

 ploration, whether oil is discovered or 

 not. In 1981, total receipts from 



bonuses, rents, rights of way, royalties 

 and interest on leases put $12 billion 

 into the federal treasury. 



Some of that money comes back to 

 the state in the form of the Coastal 

 Energy Impact Program (CEIP), but 

 at this point, there are no direct funds 

 coming to the state as a result of 

 offshore oil leases. 



will have "several unavoidable, ad- 

 verse environmental effects," all of 

 which will be "temporary, localized 

 and reversible." 



According to the report, air quality 

 will be affected by emissions from the 

 ship during drilling, but breezes will 

 quickly disperse the fumes. Water 

 quality will be affected by releases of 



We can 't look to other states for answers because what's happened 

 with offshore oil drilling there doesn't always apply in North 

 Carolina . 



This could change if a bill passes in 

 this session of Congress requiring shar- 

 ing of revenue from offshore oil and gas 

 exploration. The legislation would give 

 North Carolina and other coastal 

 states a share from the sale of offshore 

 drilling leases. The bill's sponsor, Rep. 

 Walter Jones, D-N.C, estimates 

 North Carolina would gain $9.3 

 million from leases during the 1984 

 budget year. House hearings on the 

 revenue-sharing bill were scheduled for 

 March 1 and March 10. 



On the cost side, there's only 

 speculation. Could we be harming our 

 environment with offshore oil develop- 

 ment? 



The most obvious concern is an oil 

 spill. (See story on next page) 



But there's more to it than that. In a 

 report submitted to the state's Outer 

 Continental Shelf (OCS) Task Force, 

 Chevron says the exploratory drilling 



drill cuttings and of muds used as a 

 drilling lubricant. 



The rock cuttings are discharged 

 continuously with little effect. There is 

 concern, however, over the muds. 



Made of clay minerals, some minor 

 components of some drilling muds 

 have been found to be toxic in the 

 laboratory, says Bill Kirby-Smith, an 

 associate research professor at Duke 

 University Marine Lab in Beaufort. 

 But he adds that, in field situations, 

 the toxicity is much reduced by dilu- 

 tion of the muds as they are dispersed 

 in the water. 



In areas of strong currents, the 

 finely textured muds remain in the 

 water column until they're carried 

 away from the drilling site and dis- 

 persed in a wide area. In weaker 

 currents, the majority settles to the 

 bottom, says Kirby-Smith. 



That causes more concern. National 



Photo by Steve Murray 



The view offshore, distorted by a wide-angle lens: Oil companies say that because of Earth 's curvature, offshore 

 wells would be hidden from North Carolina beaches 



