The Florida House of Representatives continued to study the benefits and drawbacks of offshore drilling for energy on Monday, even as leaders from both parties in the House the Senate cautioned there was little hope for progress during this session.

On Monday, the House’s Select Policy Council on Strategic & Economic Planning heard the findings of a report authorized by the Senate to explore the issue of offshore drilling.

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, asked the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida to study the issue. Atwater authorized the commission to gather information but not to offer recommendations. Staff members of the Collins Center for Public Policy researched the issue on behalf of the commission.

Dr. Frank Alcock, Associate Professor of Political Science at New College and a fellow of the Collins Center, was the primary author of the report and presented it to the council. “These are preliminary findings and not the definitive word by any means,” Alcock said.

He urged the council to identify the correct assessments of state and federal waters when studying the issue. The United States Geological Survey provides assessments in state waters and the Minerals Management Service, from the U.S. Department of the Interior, handles assessments in federal waters.

“The debate on offshore drilling has often blurred the distinction between state and federal boundaries,” Alcock said. “The debate on offshore drilling has evolved in the absence of an accurate description of the United States Geological Survey resource estimates for Florida waters. Our report provides this.”

Alcock provided ammunition for both proponents and opponents of offshore drilling.

When asked if offshore drilling would provide an influx of new jobs in the state and an increase in state revenue, Alcock said, “We need to be realistic about jobs and revenue for the state and we will have to temper our expectations.”

Referring to earlier outlooks on the impact of offshore drilling, Alcock said, “Some of those early numbers were a couple of magnitudes higher than what’s out there.”

According to Alcock, the offshore drilling would drop prices marginally for electricity and gasoline but would have a greater impact on natural gas. He estimated that drilling would lead to a 17 percent drop in the price of natural gas; a 5 percent drop in the price of electricity; and a 3 percent drop in the price of gasoline. The impacts of drilling in the eastern Gulf on prices would not be discernible.

Alcock said there was little risk to the environment. “The environmental studies that are out there do not show any gruesome risks,” he said. “The amount of oil spilled by the U.S. oil and gas industry is a small fraction of 1 percent of the amount produced.”

Alcock noted that Florida’s varied and diverse regions and ecosystems each required a specific environmental impact study.

“A thorough environmental impact analysis would need to be conducted for specific coastal regions of Florida before characterizing the potential risks of drilling in state waters,” Alcock said.

Alcock said Florida has not thoroughly studied how offshore drilling could impact other activities. “The potential for oil and gas activities to conflict with other uses of Florida’s coastal resources is significant,” he said, mentioning military activities, commercial fisheries and environmental risks.

Alcock said the state does not have a way of untangling the various conflicts that could emerge from offshore drilling. “Florida currently lacks a marine spatial planning process that could assist in this endeavor,” he said.