Monday, a new drilling moratorium for the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill was issued by the Obama administration. Last month a federal court judge, citing oil drilling jobs, overturned the first deep water drilling moratorium. Interior secretary Ken Salazar vowed to come back with one more one courts would accept. The first deep water drilling moratorium singled out drilling for oil at any kind of depths of 500 feet or more. The new drilling moratorium pays no attention to depth and focuses on drilling scenarios and technologies. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dumped an estimated 140 million gallons of crude to the sea.
New drilling moratorium applies to all depths
Last week, a federal appeals court rejected an appeal that was given by the interior department to restore its first offshore deep-water drilling moratorium, which halted the approval of any new permits for deep-water projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells. It was reported by the Washington Post that Salazar made the announcement Monday, arguing that a drilling moratorium is nevertheless needed to ensure that oil and gas companies implement safety measures to lower risks – and are prepared to manage oil spills. Unlike the first moratorium, which applied to drilling rigs in waters of more than 500 feet, the new one applies to any deep-water floating facility with drilling activities.
At risk are oil drilling jobs
Through Nov. 30, the new moratorium will last. Many permits can be given before that if drillers prove safe measures have been taken. In the mean time, a New Orleans business group explained that the economic damage from a drilling moratorium would be worse than the toll taken by the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010. Business Week reports that Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans Inc. told the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill and Offshore Drilling at a hearing that the six-month drilling ban may affect as much as 24,000 oil drilling jobs in Louisiana. Hecht intended the economic impact from the BP oil spill would be dwarfed by the impact from the moratorium.
Companies that do oil drilling aren’t trusted
Salazar doesn’t agree with Hecht’s assessment of the outcome. In a statement Salazar explained “A pause on deepwater drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deep water drilling presently poses. I’m basing my decision on evidence that grows each day of the industry’s inability within the deep water to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill and to operate safely.”
First drilling rig leaves the gulf
At the national commission listening to, the CEO of a service provider that is for offshore drillers said drilling rigs will leave the Gulf because of the drilling moratorium. One has proven right so far. As outlined by the Houston Chronicle, on July 9 Diamond Offshore announced that its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig will leave the Gulf of Mexico and move to Egyptian waters immediately — making it the first to abandon the gulf within the wake of the BP oil spill and the drilling moratorium being tested in the courts.
Find more info here:
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/12/AR2010071203003.html?hpid=topnews
businessweek.com
businessweek.com/news/2010-07-12/economic-damage-of-drilling-ban-to-dwarf-oil-spill-hecht-says.html
Houston Chronicle
chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7101738.html
