White House Is Lifting Ban on Deepwater Drilling By PETER BAKER 1:50 p.m. | Updated
WASHINGTON The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it is immediately lifting a moratorium on deepwater drilling that was imposed after the BP oil spill, as new rules are put in place that are intended to prevent another such disaster.
We have made and continue to make significant progress in reducing the risks associated with deepwater drilling, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters on a conference call early Tuesday afternoon. Therefore, he said, I have decided that 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.
The administration imposed the moratorium after the blowout of a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, which led to the largest offshore oil spill in American history. Since then, the White House has come under intense pressure from the oil and gas industry and from regional officials and businesses, complaining about the economic impact of the decision. The moratorium was originally set to expire on Nov. 30.
The administration has meanwhile been working on regulatory changes meant to improve safety, oversight and environmental protection standards in offshore drilling. Nearly two weeks ago, the Interior Department issued new rules governing topics like well casing and cementing, blowout preventers, safety certification, emergency response and worker training.
Mr. Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, was assigned to draft a plan for safely resuming drilling.
Though the moratorium has now been lifted, officials have said that it could be weeks or even months before drilling operations can resume, because new permits must now be granted.
The moratorium left 33 deepwater drilling rigs idle in the gulf, and the resulting loss of jobs engendered some anger in the region. Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, has blocked the confirmation of Mr. Obamas nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget, Jack Lew, saying she would not allow the nomination to go forward until the moratorium was eased.
For their part, environmentalists have called on the White House to extend the freeze on deepwater drilling and extend it to shallow-water drilling as well.
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