Panelists talk about drilling off S.C. coast

Drilling for natural gas and oil off the coast of South Carolina is necessary, and perhaps inevitable, according to some participants at a Charleston roundtable discussion on energy policy sponsored by the Shell oil corporation.

However, supporters of coastal oil and gas exploration said that even if the practice were allowed off South Carolina today, it could take at least 10 to 15 years to produce any new supplies.

Federal rules allow gas and oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, but there has been a moratorium on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts for 25 years.

Environmental groups and southeastern states with large tourism economies expressed concern or outright opposition to the idea of expanded exploration and drilling when Congress took up the issue last year.

In South Carolina, a state committee charged with examining the feasibility of offshore natural gas exploration is supposed to convene this fall and report to the Legislature next year.

"I think there are plenty of people who have concerns, who have views, so I think it's important to have a study," said Rep. Ben Hagood, R-Sullivan's Island, the only elected official on the 16-member panel that met Wednesday.

The panel was part of a series that began last year, financed by Shell and hosted by Congressional Quarterly magazine. "We think meeting the energy challenge means increasing reliable supplies, and that means increasing access," said Shell executive Annell Bay.

Moderator Peter Harkness, editor of Governing magazine, predicted there eventually will be a lifting of the national moratorium, which could set up a conflict between states that want oil and gas royalties, and the tourism industries in those same states.

The Coastal Conservation League's director of conservation programs, Elizabeth Hagood, was the lone environmental group representative on the panel, which was dominated by energy interests and business groups.

She said energy conservation should be the state's top priority.

"We are used to cheap energy, we consume a lot of it, and we need to change," said Hagood, who is Ben Hagood's sister-in-law.

John Tiencken, special counsel to the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, said co-ops are seeing energy demand rising about 5 percent yearly, and conservation and alternative energy sources like wind farms won't close that gap. "We're going to have to deal with some harsh realities," he said.

David Winkles, president of the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, said offshore exploration is "absolutely critical."

"To put natural gas in play, you're going to have to link it to climate change," said Michael Whatley, of the pro-drilling Southeast Energy Alliance. "If natural gas is better (for the climate) than coal, then you have to open up supply."

Hagood said the Coastal Conservation League is not explicitly opposed to offshore exploration for natural gas. In fact, no one on the panel was. However, Hagood said the Coastal Conservation League and other groups would strongly object to drilling for oil, and federal leases don't separate the two.

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.