U.S. Issues New Rules on Offshore Drilling

[sonomak]

Source: New York Times

The Interior Department issued new safety and spill-response regulations for offshore oil and gas drilling on Thursday, but gave no hint of when the moratorium on deepwater operations will be lifted.

The new rules — governing blowout preventers, safety certification, well design, emergency response and worker training — provide offshore drillers with clarity on the terms under which drilling will resume when the current freeze ends. The main conditions had already been telegraphed by the department in a safety report issued in May and in two notices to offshore operators handed down in June, in response to the blowout of a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20.

That accident, which resulted in the worst offshore oil spill in American history, killed 11 rig workers and spewed nearly five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar presented the new rules in a speech Thursday morning, calling them a fundamental change in offshore operations that will guide all future leasing and development decisions in the gulf, the Arctic and elsewhere. The rules take effect immediately under emergency rule-making powers. In an interview, Mr. Salazar said he expected oil companies to complain, but to quickly come into compliance.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/us/01drill.html

[defendandprotect]

1. Current FREEZE should not end -- we should renew the 26 year Moritorium on off-shore drilling ....

and BP should be banned from doing any business in America --

[pdefalla]

2. I'm sure Salazar fought to impose the weakest rules

that he could manage. He is surely thinking of his cushy job with BP when he leaves office..