U.S. Issues Revised Offshore Drilling Ban

[IScreamSundays]

Source: NYTimes

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued revised rules on Monday for a six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, replacing an earlier one that had been declared invalid by federal courts.

The revised moratorium would allow some drilling rigs to resume operating under certain conditions. To qualify, the rig’s owners must prove that they have adequate plans in place to quickly shut down an out-of-control well, that the blowout preventers atop the wells it drills have passed rigorous new tests, and that sufficient cleanup resources are on hand in case of a spill. Industry officials said it would be difficult to meet those conditions quickly and that the restrictions would threaten the jobs of thousands of rig workers.

The original moratorium, struck down late last month by a federal judge in New Orleans, halted work on 33 wells being drilled in deep water in the gulf.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/us/13commission.html?src=mv