BIG NEWS!
Obama: No Offshore Drilling in East Coast Waters
"In a reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday it will not pursue offshore drilling off the East Coast of the U.S. and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
A senior administration official told The Associated Press that because of the BP oil spill, the Interior Department will not propose any new oil drilling in waters off the East Coast for at least the next seven years.
President Barack Obama's earlier plan — announced in March, three weeks before the April BP spill — would have authorized officials to explore potential for drilling from Delaware to central Florida, plus the northern waters of Alaska. The new plan allows potential drilling in Alaska, but officials said they will move cautiously before approving any leases."
GULF OIL DISASTER
Offshore drilling regulation overhaul appears out of reach
"Efforts to negotiate a comprehensive overhaul of federal offshore drilling regulations have collapsed, but there's still a chance for a more limited bill that increases oil spill liability limits
.
Under discussion is a plan that would allow oil companies to create a unified oil spill liability fund, a measure that could win support from opponents of the unlimited cap sought by some senators."
Killer Rigs: There's More Death in Offshore Drilling Than Meets the Eye
"MMS data also showed that average mercury levels in shrimp around the most contaminated rig were 25 times higher than average mercury levels found in shrimp from Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound, according to data from the MMS and EPA. [...] The oil industry dumps over a billion pounds of mercury-contaminated drilling mud wastes into the Gulf each year."
This is a re-post of a blog that originally appeared on May 29, 2010.
FLORIDA
Official: Feds won't end drilling ban off Fla.
"The Obama administration will maintain a long-standing oil drilling ban in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida after considering loosening it before the BP spill, a senior administration official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "In light of the BP spill, we've learned a lot and understand the need to elevate the safety and environmental standards," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hadn't been announced yet. "We took a second look at the announced plan and modified it to remove the Eastern Gulf of Mexico from leasing consideration."
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar planned to discuss the decision Wednesday afternoon."
THE ARCTIC
BP Suspends Construction of Liberty Rig in Alaska
"BP Plc, the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the U.S., suspended construction of a drilling rig at its Liberty project in Alaska to "take time to evaluate the safety systems" on the rig, Steve Rinehart, a company spokesman, said in a telephone interview. [...] The decision to halt construction of the drilling rig was made after "a number of engineering and design issues arose," during construction, which began after parts of the rig reached Alaska's North Slope in the late summer of 2009, Rinehart said. He declined to provide further details. "It's the first rig like this ever built and after the issues arose we decided to stop construction, not the project, and go through all the safety systems to ensure we have what we need," Rinehart said. During the engineering evaluations, the focus will include "safety critical systems, power systems, and high pressure mud pumps." "
Does it make anyone else nervous that BP seems to be trying to figure it out as they go?
