---
title: "Post Spill, Still Drill?"
description: "Though fewer Americans support offshore oil drilling in the wake of the Gulf spill, a majority still supports new drilling."
date: "2010-05-26"
authors:
  - name: "Pew Research Center"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2010/05/26/post-spill-still-drill/"
---

# Post Spill, Still Drill?

Most Americans (55%) consider the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to be a major environmental disaster, but a majority (54%) also favors increasing offshore drilling in U.S. waters. In the wake of the spill, however, support for more offshore drilling is down. Fully 68% favored increased drilling in April 2009 and 63% wanted to drill more in February 2010. The drop off in support has come from Democrats and independents; pro-drilling sentiment feel by 13 points among both groups, and is now a minority opinion among Democrats (41%). Republicans, meanwhile, are no less supportive of increased drilling in U.S. waters after the oil spill than they were before it. Two months before the spill, 74% of Republicans favored more offshore drilling. After the spill, 76% wanted more drilling. Among all Americans, oil drilling in U.S. waters remains more popular than promoting nuclear power (45% support this), but is still less popular than more funding for alternative energy (73%) and spending more on mass transit (65%). [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1590/poll-gulf-oil-disaster-obama-bp-support-for-drilling)