The highly controversial decision by the Obama administration to impose a deepwater oil drilling moratorium for the Gulf of Mexico after the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill may be coming to an end, although it's doubtful whether it'll help to get people who lost their jobs as a result back to work anytime soon.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he believes the process will be over fairly quickly.
Gibbs said, "I believe this process will wrap up very soon." He didn't say what type of time-frame is being dealt with.
New regulations for shallow-water drilling are having an effect of a moratorium as well, as it has slowed down significantly the permitting process, which has cost a lot of jobs in the region as well.
So if the moratorium is lifted and the same misguided permitting process is left in place, the Obama administration gets to make it look like they dropped the moratorium before the elections, while essentially holding back the entire region in connection to the oil and gas industry.
It would be surprising to see the moratorium still be in place after the elections. More than likely several days before the voting the announcement will be made.
Showing posts with label Shallow Water Drilling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shallow Water Drilling. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
BP (NYSE:BP) Fund Not Helping Obama Moratorium Victims
Victims of the oil moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, imposed by the Obama administration in response to the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, aren't going to get any help from the compensation fund of the oil giant, as it's disguised as a permitting process for shallow water drilling, rather than the “de facto shallow-water drilling ban," as described by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA).
BP had set up a Rig Worker Assistance Fund of $100 million, which wasn't tapped into that much because many companies were keeping their workers on payroll even though they were shut down.
Because there is no official oil moratorium for shallow water drilling, that fund and the $20 billion compensation fund, doesn't pay for people out of work because of the Obama oil moratorium.
What the Obama administration has done is imposed draconian restrictions on shallow water oil drilling to the point it is effectively a moratorium.
To give an idea how much it has strangled the industry, only 53 new wells have been permitted this year, while last year 96 passed through the process.
Either shallow water drillers must also keep workers on payroll while seeing if they eventually are permitted, a very expensive decision, or they must let the workers go, which is what is happening at this time.
Industries indirectly related to the oil industry have been dramatically affected as well, with an unknown number of jobs and revenue lost because they served the oil workers no longer working.
BP had set up a Rig Worker Assistance Fund of $100 million, which wasn't tapped into that much because many companies were keeping their workers on payroll even though they were shut down.
Because there is no official oil moratorium for shallow water drilling, that fund and the $20 billion compensation fund, doesn't pay for people out of work because of the Obama oil moratorium.
What the Obama administration has done is imposed draconian restrictions on shallow water oil drilling to the point it is effectively a moratorium.
To give an idea how much it has strangled the industry, only 53 new wells have been permitted this year, while last year 96 passed through the process.
Either shallow water drillers must also keep workers on payroll while seeing if they eventually are permitted, a very expensive decision, or they must let the workers go, which is what is happening at this time.
Industries indirectly related to the oil industry have been dramatically affected as well, with an unknown number of jobs and revenue lost because they served the oil workers no longer working.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Shallow Water Moratorium after BP (NYSE:BP) Oil Spill? May as Well be!
As the United States continues to flounder economically, new rules for shallow water drilling from the BP (NYSE:BP) disaster have close to the same consequences as if there was an oil moratorium in place, as it continues to be in deeper Gulf waters by the order of the Obama administration, which is wreaking economic havoc in the Gulf states struggling to recover.
Since June 8, only 5 of the 13 drilling permits applied for have been approved.
The problem is the new regulations in place which will allegedly make it safer to drill in shallow waters, even though government inspectors had cleared every oil rig in the Gulf with the exception of two, as being safe to operate.
According to Jim Noe, Executive Director of the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition, regulators need to differentiate between the development of shallow water drilling and deepwater drilling.
He said, "BOEM must recognize that it cannot continue to shove a square peg into a round hole by treating all offshore drilling operations the same, disregarding history and geological facts."
Noe is referring to using a tiered review process for the industry based on risks associated with the depths being drilled in.
He added, of the 46 available shallow water rigs, 15 of them have now been idled, in addition to the idled deepwater rigs.
Just the deepwater moratorium alone is causing the loss of over 20,000 jobs, according to most state authorities in the region.
Since June 8, only 5 of the 13 drilling permits applied for have been approved.
The problem is the new regulations in place which will allegedly make it safer to drill in shallow waters, even though government inspectors had cleared every oil rig in the Gulf with the exception of two, as being safe to operate.
According to Jim Noe, Executive Director of the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition, regulators need to differentiate between the development of shallow water drilling and deepwater drilling.
He said, "BOEM must recognize that it cannot continue to shove a square peg into a round hole by treating all offshore drilling operations the same, disregarding history and geological facts."
Noe is referring to using a tiered review process for the industry based on risks associated with the depths being drilled in.
He added, of the 46 available shallow water rigs, 15 of them have now been idled, in addition to the idled deepwater rigs.
Just the deepwater moratorium alone is causing the loss of over 20,000 jobs, according to most state authorities in the region.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)