Oil Spill’s Environmental Threat Worsens, but Market Still Unaffected
The projected size and location of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill slick as of the night of Friday April 30. (image: nyt.com)
As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico expands and its threat to coastal environments worsens, one market expert says it still has not had an effect on oil prices. MarketWatch reported on Friday that Rick Mueller, director of oil markets at Energy Security Analysis Inc., said the spill would probably not affect oil prices because the leaking oil field “was not a production field and it was not a big field to begin with.”
The New York Times cited unconfirmed reports that the now-massive oil slick had begun to reach the Louisiana coast on Friday afternoon. The spill, designated an event “of national significance” by President Obama, now poses a huge threat to coastal ecosystems in the Gulf, as well as fishing industries in the affected areas. Government officials and Gulf Coast residents are bracing for what could be the worst environmental disaster in years, if not decades.
The environmental and economic devastation of the spill could have major political fallout that shapes future US energy policy. A shift in public opinion away for supporting offshore drilling could put the brakes on a federal plan to expand drilling allowances and build support for the development on biodiesel and other green energy sources.
