BP (NYSE:BP): Will They Get New Gulf Oil Leases?

In somewhat of a "duh" comment, the White House oil spill commission said in response to the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, that the decision on which companies are rewarded with Gulf oil permits should be based on the amount of drilling experience they have and their safety record in implementing their tasks.

Did they come up with this idea all by themselves?

The commission concluded that the government should focus on "linking a specific site with the safety risks it imposes and who we are going to give the responsibility of exploring and extracting from that site."

Incredibly, this is the conclusion the committee formed to give guidance for offshore drilling in the future.

Of course the point is we didn't need a commission to be appointed to tell us what we already know. How hard is it to figure out inspections need to be made, companies need to improve safety procedures, and those that don't won't be allowed to drill in Gulf waters.

Now the question is whether or not BP will be awarded with new permits if they apply for them. They'll probably wait a little more until news coverage is down more and the public really loses interest. The elections would be a good time for that, as more important matters will be being dealt with at that time, and not many would be interested in the aftermath of the BP incident.

If BP can secure more leases, in the long term they probably will make the attempt. Assuming they are able to comply with the new regulations, there's nothing to keep them from going forward with it.

About 10 percent of BP's revenue comes from the U.S. market