
By Karin Zeitvogel
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 06:49:00 10/13/2010
Filed Under: Oil & Gas - Upstream activities, Health and Safety at Work
WASHINGTON—The United States on Tuesday lifted a ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico imposed after the BP oil spill, but set operators tough new safety conditions, officials said.
"We have decided it is now appropriate to lift the suspension on deepwater drilling for those operators that are able to clear the higher bar that we have set" for safety, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
Shortly after the BP oil disaster began in April, President Barack Obama ordered a six-month freeze on deepwater offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The moratorium was due to expire at the end of next month.
The new rules, which were laid out by the Interior Department two weeks ago, toughen up companies' obligations on drilling and workplace safety, well containment and spill response, he said.
They were crafted in the wake of the blowout on a BP deepwater well that killed 11 rig workers and sparked the worst oil disaster in US history, the effects of which are still being felt in Gulf Coast states.
Key among the tough new rules for deepwater drilling is an obligation for the CEO of any company wishing to drill in deep water to "certify that the rig has complied with all new and existing rules," said Salazar.
Executives from the companies involved in the BP-leased well that blew out in April have blamed each other for the accident which happened some 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the coast of Louisiana.
Environmental group Greenpeace called the end of the ban on deepwater drilling "pure politics of the most cynical kind."
"Scientists haven't even assessed the full ecological impact of the BP disaster and yet the government is in a rush to allow oil companies to get back to drilling. It is irresponsible to say the least, reckless at worst," said Greenpeace USA director Phil Radford.
Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the moratorium was being lifted "prematurely."
"To ensure a disaster like this never happens again, we must know what caused it in the first place. We’re still waiting for that answer and until we get it, the moratorium should remain in place," he said.
Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu, who has called the moratorium an "uninformed" and "reckless" move that endangered the environment, national security and jobs, welcomed Tuesday's announcement as "a step in the right direction."
"But it must be accompanied by an action plan to get the entire industry in the Gulf of Mexico back to work," including an acceleration of the permitting process, she added.
Coppied by http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20101013-297456/US-lifts-Gulf-of-Mexico-deepwater-oil-drilling-ban