SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Some Deep-Water Gulf Drilling Allowed to Resume
from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)
In a move that could signal a long-awaited return to business as usual in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration announced Monday that it would allow 13 companies to resume deep-water oil and gas drilling that was suspended after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion last spring.
The administration had imposed a drilling moratorium after the April 20 accident at the BP well, which killed 11 workers and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the gulf in the country's worst offshore oil disaster.
The Interior Department lifted the moratorium in mid-October, but because drilling permits have been issued at a far slower pace than before the disaster, the administration has faced criticism from the oil industry, Gulf Coast politicians and residents that a de facto moratorium persisted. After the moratorium was lifted, two companies received new permits, but for activities they could have done anyway under the suspension, an administration official said.
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