In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon accident, one of the most often asked questions is: What does this mean for the future of offshore drilling?

While many people are understandably concerned about the safety and environmental risks associated with offshore drilling, we are encouraging all Americans not to rush to judgment on this issue until we've learned what went wrong. This tragic accident shouldn't be used as an excuse to roll back the gains that have been made in developing new technologies to explore and develop our own energy resources.

The fact is that energy demand is growing, and this nation will need more oil and natural gas to meet the demand in the coming decades.

"...whatever the magnitu... more »

"This is like doing open-heart surgery at 5,000 feet in the dark with robot-controlled submarines," Lamar McKay, chairman and president of BP America, said this weekend as he described the complexity of stopping the oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico.

As he and other BP officials told reporters this weekend:

• There are now six ROVs trying every technique imaginable to get the blowout preventer (BOP) to activate fully and stop the flow of oil.
• Three containment domes are being fabricated and are expected to be placed over the leaking riser to capture the oil and safely transport it to a barge for processing. According to one report, these domes, which weigh about 74 tons, could be deployed in six-to-eight days.
• About 2,500 people, scores of vessels, miles of boom, and hundreds of thousands of... more »

In effort to provide information to all Americans about oil spills and the ongoing response, here's a list of websites that might be useful:

www.energytomorrow.org - We're working to add functionality to this website so we can provide as much up-to-date information as possible. Today, the homepage contains links to safety and response information as well as to this blog.

www.api.org - For information about API's offshore safety and environmental standards, frequently-asked questions on the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and related materials, use the horizontal navigation window and highlight "Safety Response."

www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com - This site is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard and other parties who are responding to the oil spill. Updates, photographs, diagrams and videos are ad... more »

In today's episode, I interview API's Allison Nyholm, an oil spill response veteran, about the technologies used by the oil and natural gas industry to handle spills.

Use the audio player below to listen to information about the article and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find the podcast informative.

Show Notes:

00:17 America has been watching the evolving Gulf of Mexico situation. The Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank while crew members were completing an exploration well in about 5,000 feet of water. Eleven crew members are missing and presumed dead, several others were injured--and at this time--oil is continuing to flow into the water.

00:58 The Deepwater Horizon accident was a terrible tragedy for all of us, and our prayers continue to be w... more »

As southeasterly winds push oil into the Louisiana marshes today, several government agencies, the Navy, the oil and natural gas industry and wildlife experts are working to protect sensitive habitats.

BP, the company leading the clean-up, also is seeking volunteers to help along the Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Meanwhile, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) is sending inspectors to all Gulf exploration rigs in hopes of reducing the possibility of any similar accident. The rigs are inspected regularly by MMS staff, and the Deepwater Horizon was inspected less than two weeks before the accident. Blowout preventers also are tested on a regular basis.

As we've mentioned in this space repeatedly, the oil and natural gas industry is heartsick about the accident, the loss of the 11 missing men, t... more »