Why drill offshore?
A. Efforts to develop and expand the use of viable alternatives continue. However, regardless of the extent of these efforts, natural gas and oil will remain the primary sources of reliable energy well into the next century. California is a major consumer of petroleum products and ranks among the top five oil consumers, worldwide. (Others include: the United States as a whole, the Commonwealth of Independent States [former Soviet Union], Japan, and Germany.) Sixty percent of California’s energy use is based on oil and another 30 percent on natural gas. California produces about 45 percent of the oil it consumes (20 percent of which is produced offshore), and onshore production is declining. Natural gas is a clean source of energy, and the gas produced offshore Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties is used locally to heat homes and offices. The OCS platforms off California have produced over three times as much gas as used by the residential users in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Ob
