W.H. Official: No New Drilling off Florida

[sabra]

Source: CBS News/AP

In Wake of BP Spill, U.S. Won't Consider New Permits to Drill in Eastern Gulf for at Least 7 Years, Source Says

(AP) The White House won't allow any new oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven years because of the BP oil spill.

A senior administration official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that drilling leases won't be considered in the waters off Florida as part of the change. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision hadn't been announced yet.

He said that because of the BP spill, the administration now understands the need to elevate safety and environmental standards. Before the spill, the administration had considered a plan to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/01/national/main7106418.shtml?tag=cbsContent;cbsCarousel

[dipsydoodle]

1. Good

Would otherwise be insensitive.

[ZombieHorde]

2. A bit of good news before I head off to school. Recommended. nt

[goforit]

3. Brilliant !!! I tell ya,,,Brilliant!!!

Geee, " I could have had a V8 " moment.
:sarcasm:

[Turborama]

4. Obama imposes 7-year drilling ban in eastern Gulf of Mexico

Source: CNN

President Barack Obama will not be allowing new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years, according to a senior administration official.

The ban is being imposed as a result of the April 20 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf that killed 11 people and triggered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

An estimated 4.9 million barrels (206 million gallons) of oil gushed into the Gulf before the broken well, 5,000 feet below the surface, was capped.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scheduled to hold a briefing on the decision at 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/01/obama.gulf.drilling/

[robcon]

5. WTF? Why?

I don't get the ban. Will that unleak the oil?

[Recursion]

9. You really don't get the ban?

Do you want me to point you to the youtube channel of the BP spill?

[robcon]

17. What has that spill to do with new drilling?

Do you think there's some 'cosmic connection' to the BP spill?

Horrible, unscientific decision.

[Recursion]

18. No, I think wells that are never drilled will not leak

That seems pretty obvious to me. (And yes, I know the Gulf floor itself leaks a Valdez every year.)

[Ilsa]

6. I guess it's okay if the western Gulf of Mexico eats sludge. nt

[Recursion]

10. You're right. It's better to do nothing than to do less than everything.

*facepalm*

[Ilsa]

28. Well, maybe if you were affected by this like those of us living

by the western gulf, you'd feel differently. Am I happy for Floridians? Sure. But what about my neighbors that shrimp and fish these waters? What about the ecology of the estuaries in my backyard? Don't they deserve protection?

[Recursion]

29. Hi. I grew up in Pass Christian.

I even know how to pronounce it. Maybe a bit less of the patronizing?

[Ilsa]

30. Are you living in the northern gulf now? Nope, guess not. How rich.

Don't judge me either for having an opinion about the protection of my own backyard. (It would seem that MA will at least benefit from the protection.)

[Recursion]

31. Yes, we will

Would you prefer nothing?

[Ilsa]

32. For Gods' sake, did you even read my earlier post? I said I'm happy

for Florida, but living in the western gulf, I justifiably still have reason to be concerned. So let me me be concerned! What do you care anyway since you obviously aren't going to have to deal with the aftermath of another oil spill.

[Ilsa]

7. The BP disaster happened in the western gulf. The gulf stream and weather

factors created the problems with the eastern gulf being hit with sludge and pollution.

[greiner3]

8. This will protect FL waters;

A bit more than no ban. It also protects the Eastern coast line, Eastern Canada and ultimately the Grand Banks with its fishing.

I see this as a morsel thrown to Obama's base. It's tasty but we cannot live off of tidbits.

I for one am very hungry.

[Fruittree]

11. Interesting how even when it's something good,

the reactions are negative.

[Turborama]

14. I have to admit to being a bit surprised, too

damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, it seems.

[Imajika]

12. Aren't the Chinese and Cubans now drilling...

...in the Gulf and Caribbean?

What good will it do if we stop drilling, only to have someone else come in and drill instead - and with inferior technology?

[Baclava]

16. Good point - and the Cuban drilling area is smackdab in the middle of hurricane alley

in 2011, oil-drilling will begin in cuban waters

Ocean scientists warn that a well blowout similar to the BP disaster could send oil spewing onto Cuban beaches and then the Florida Keys in as little as three days. If the oil reached the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that passes through the region, oil could flow up the coast to Miami and beyond.

http://www.greenantilles.com/2010/10/01/in-2011-oil-drilling-will-begin-in-cuban-waters/

-------


Cuba ready to drill for oil deeper than BP

Cuba is picking up the pace on efforts to search for oil and gas. Exploratory rigs could start working as soon as next year, just miles off the Florida coast.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/29/1849526/cuba-ready-to-drill-deeper-than.html

----

Florida Sees New Threat to Its Beaches

Deepwater Drilling Project in Cuban Waters Set to Launch Next Year Could Kick Off a Spate of Exploration in the Region

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704525704575341080005377338.html

-------

[Ginto]

19. wrong spot

[Imajika]

21. Exactly..

So we suspend drilling, and just watch other countries roll in and drill instead?

I mean, I understand the drilling ban, but what good is it if other nations just walk right in and drill where we refuse to? We don't own the Gulf of Mexico, anyone can drill there if they want.

[Baclava]

22. I applaud President Obama for doing the right thing

Unfortunately, that might not be enough


New fears over Cuban plans to drill for oil in 2011

The possibility of a spill is, of course, what concerns people in Florida. Computer models show that a spill in that location would quickly wind up in the gulf's loop current, said David Guggenheim of the Ocean Foundation. Oil would soon wind up coating the beaches and coral reefs of the Keys, harming not only tourism and fishing there but also the priceless natural areas in the Dry Tortugas National Park, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the National Key Deer Refuge and other sensitive lands.

Repsol, the Spanish company that plans to drill, has a somewhat spotty safety record. In February 2008, its operation in Ecuador experienced a crude oil spill near the Yasuni National Park in a rainforest area. In February 2009, another oil spill occurred in Ecuador's Amazon region after a rupture in a pipeline.

Pinon said the reason was the U.S. embargo on Cuba forbids any machinery with more than 10 percent American-made components from being brought into the country. No rig met that rigorous test — until now, he said. This year Repsol signed a contract for a semisubmersible Italian rig built in China that won't violate the embargo. The rig can operate in depths of 11,811 feet — twice as deep as the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig.

The first block Repsol is expected to explore lies under 5,600 feet of water — 600 feet deeper than where BP's Deepwater Horizon well exploded in April — and about 55 miles south of Florida's Marquesas Keys.



http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/new-fears-over-cuban-plans-to-drill-for-oil-in-2011/1125244

[dipsydoodle]

23. Cuba needs the foreign exchange funds to be derived from oil.

quite apart from the oil itself. The Chinese would build a refinery for them.

If did all go pear shaped and finish up like the Macondo well then perhaps the US may subsequently regret having maintained the embargo.

Its like most things in life - you can't have it both ways so just deal with it.

[obxhead]

13. Thank goodness BP could point out his folly.

Such a tragedy that it took the largest oil spill in US history to get Obama to reverse his policy.

this is a case of locking the barn door after the stock has already been stolen, but I guess it's better than restocking it and leaving it open.

[Uncle Joe]

15. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, sabra.:thumbsup:

[Ginto]

20. Obama needs to find a way that no country can drill in the Gulf. Go to the UN.

Do something to make it off limits to everyone until a long and public safety review can be established.

[dipsydoodle]

24. Be interesting to see him try that one

with respect to waters outside the US's own.

[jefferson_dem]

25. Obama: No offshore drilling in East Coast waters

Source: AP

In a reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday it will not pursue offshore drilling off the East Coast of the U.S. and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

A senior administration official told The Associated Press that because of the BP oil spill, the Interior Department will not propose any new oil drilling in waters off the East Coast for at least the next seven years.

President Barack Obama's earlier plan _ announced in March, three weeks before the April BP spill _ would have authorized officials to explore potential for drilling from Delaware to central Florida, plus the northern waters of Alaska. The new plan allows potential drilling in Alaska, but officials said they will move cautiously before approving any leases.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar planned to discuss details of the decision later Wednesday. He said in a statement obtained by the AP that the BP spill taught officials a number of lessons, "most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus on creating a more stringent regulatory regime."

The new strategy focuses on areas with leases that are currently active in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, Salazar said. "Our revised strategy lays out a careful, responsible path for meeting our nation's energy needs while protecting our oceans and coastal communities," he said.

Obama's pre-spill embrace of more offshore drilling was widely viewed as a political ploy to secure more votes for a comprehensive global warming bill in Congress _ one of the president's top domestic priorities. But that bill died last summer, and with Republicans winning control of the House and gaining in the Senate, the bill is unlikely to be revived any time soon.

Read more: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/ap?articleID=5940891

[Mass]

26. At least some good news. I needed some.

[JackintheGreen]

27. Republicans respond:

"We will not allow a vote on the repeal of DADT, the SALTT, or middle-class tax cuts unless the president immediately agrees to drilling off the east coast."

Obama will seek compromise.

Result: east coast drilling, no m-c tax cut, no DADT repeal, and no SALTT, but by god! we worked with the other side.