An oilspill risk analysis for the Mid-Atlantic (Proposed Sale 49) Outer Continental Shelf lease area. Water-resources investigations (final)

Technical Report · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:6146225

Slack, J R; Wyant, T

An oil spill risk analysis was conducted to determine the relative environmental hazards of developing oil in different regions of the Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf lease area. The study analyzed the probability of spill occurrence, likely paths of the spilled oil, and locations in space and time of such objects as recreational and biological resources likely to be vulnerable. These results are combined to yield estimates of the overall oil spill risk associated with development of the proposed lease area. The analysis implicitly includes estimates of weathering rates and slick dispersion and an indication of the possible mitigating effects of cleanups. Assuming that economically recoverable amounts of petroleum are found in the area, the leasing of the tracts proposed for Sale 49 will increase the expected number of spills by about 20-25% over the number expected from the existing (Sale 40) leases. The probability that an object such as land will be contacted by a spill is increased by at most five percentage points.

• Research Organization: Geological Survey, Reston, VA (USA). Water Resources Div.
• OSTI ID: 6146225
• Report Number(s): PB-288401
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
CURRENTS
DRILLING
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MONTE CARLO METHOD
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OIL SPILLS
POLLUTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
WATER CURRENTS
WATER POLLUTION
WEATHERING