Pettigrew quoted in Press Herald article on approval of oil exploration
The Portland Press Herald reported Norwegian energy giant Statoil received approval to explore for oil in an area next to the Georges Bank and the entrance to the Gulf of Maine. Environmentalists fear drilling could leave the ecologically sensitive Gulf of Maine susceptible to a catastrophic oil spill, according to the article. Neal Pettigrew, a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Maine, said the depth of an incident would likely be a key element. A near-surface blowout that resulted in oil or gas spilling in the upper 200 meters would have a fairly good chance of being pulled or blown into the Gulf of Maine system, whereas a bottom spill at 2,000 meters probably would not, the article states. “It depends on where it comes out,” Pettigrew said. “But, yeah, you could definitely even get some of it going into the Gulf.”