Environmental Resource Value of Industrial Infrastructure - The Hidden Environmental Cost of Restrictive Environmental Regulations in Existing Developed Areas

摘要

The use of existing industrial infrastructure to support therndeveloment of newly discovered oil and gas resources inrnexisting developed areas allows new production without thernenvironmental impacts associated with the development ofrnnew infrastructure. This efficient use of existing infrastructurernhas actual environmental resource value, since the demand forrnoil and gas would promote development of an adequate supplyrnin any case. The global benefit of efficient development isrnoverlooked in traditional environmental impact analyses thatrntypically focus on local concerns within a narrow geographicrnrange. This traditional approach, which is common in morernaffluent developed countries, may actually contribute tornincreased global impacts by establishing stringent regulatoryrnregimes discouraging development that would allow thernefficient long-term use of that infrastructure. Althoughrnintended to protect the environment, the failure to recognizernexisting industrial infrastructure as an important resource mayrnresult in a hidden environmental cost by inducingrndevelopment in underdeveloped countries where economicrndevelopment goals may overshadow local concerns forrnenvironmental protection.rnThis paper was inspired by the results of a study ofrnonshore industrial infrastructure capacity in Central Californiarnsponsored by the U.S. Minerals Management Service. ThatrnMMS study evaluates the oil and gas production potential ofrnexisting offshore leases that could be accommodated byrnexisting infrastructure and a balanced program of facilityrnreplacement. Though these oil and gas resources werernoriginally identified over ten years ago, local environmentalrnpolicies have delayed their development. Oil and gasrnproduction activities in other parts of the world that providernenergy supplies equivalent to this unrealized potential werernreviewed and substantial impacts that could have been avoidedrnby the development of the California resources werernidentified. This paper presents an example of such avoidablernimpacts, and concludes that environmental reviewrnprocedures addressing oil and gas development shouldrninclude consideration of global implications of locallyrnrestrictive approval policies.