crude oil in their test plots. They found 

 that oil inhibits cellulose mineraliza- 

 tion, the natural breakdown of plants 

 in the marsh. 



"The bacteria, instead of using the 

 marsh grass, switched over and used 

 oil," Phaender says. And while the diet 

 of oil did not seem to harm the bac- 

 teria, Phaender says more study will 

 be necessary to show missing links in 

 oil's progress up the food chain. 



"One thing we don't know," Phaen- 

 der says, "is what happens if the 

 zooplanton, which feed on the bac- 

 teria, don't like the taste of oil." 



After a spill May fifth of last year 

 from a tanker in the Cape Fear River, 

 the U. S. Coast Guard spent $100,000 

 to clean up heavy fuel oil, but did not 



If, when, maybe 

 And then again 



Chevron USA may begin drilling 

 North Carolina's first offshore ex- 

 ploratory well for oil and gas this year. 

 Then again they may not. Chevron 

 may bring in a large sophisicated drill 

 ship to do actual drilling. Then again 

 they may not. 



Sound a little uncertain? It is. Until 

 the drilling actually begins, plenty of 

 avenues are open for change. And 

 North Carolina's outer continental 

 shelf offers the oil companies a few ex- 

 tra challenges — deep water, a strong 

 Gulf Stream current — that require 

 added precautions, money, expertise 

 and time for planning. 



State and federal officials predict 

 Chevron USA should be the first oil 

 company to emerge from the maze of 

 permits, plan-approvals and bargain- 

 ing needed to assemble an exploratory 

 well. Chevron would like to begin drill- 

 ing on Manteo Block 510 in tract 18, 

 38 nautical miles east-northeast of 

 Cape Hatteras, during 1983, says R.L. 

 Woodard, Chevron's division explora- 

 tion manager for the northern division. 

 But the schedule is far from set. 



Chevron is negiotating with com- 

 panies to finance the well, and no 

 agreement can be reached on a drilling 

 date, Woodard says. Chevron 

 purchased Block 510 with Conoco Inc. 

 and Shell Oil Co., in Lease Sale 56, 

 paying over $26 million. Other com- 



Continued on next page 



have the means to clean nearby 

 marshes as well. And although the ef- 

 fects of the spill seem to be gone, state 

 officials want to study the site, not 

 only to evaluate the damage, but to 

 help predict the effects of other spills. 



Such spills from tankers bringing oil 

 into North Carolina may indeed 

 already pose a greater threat than 

 offshore drilling platforms ever will. A 

 draft environmental impact statement 

 published by the U. S. Department of 

 Interior concludes that "spills 

 resulting from existing leases in the 

 region are projected to number ap- 

 proximately one. The greatest number 

 of spills is associated with the 

 transportation of hydrocarbon 

 products. Thus, should the proposed 



Courtesy of Phillips Petroleum Co. 



sale be cancelled, the risk of oil spill oc- 

 currence would still exist due to the 

 present volume of oil being imported 

 through the region." 



Even so, North Carolina officials 

 want to play it safe, assume the worst, 

 and discourage drilling on tracts 

 nearest shore. According to Eric Ver- 

 non, chairman of the state's Outer 

 Continental Shelf Task Force: "The 

 outer continental shelf offshore oil in- 

 dustry has an excellent safety record, 

 so that helps. But there will be spills — 

 there's no question about that — as 

 long as the activity goes on. We just 

 hope that by proper planning and the 

 use of the best kind of technology, that 

 those spills can be minimized." 



—Neil Caudle 



Drill ships: one of the maybe/ maybe nots 



