US issues deepwater drilling ban as a result of the Gulf oil disaster
The US Interior Department yesterday formally issued its new offshore oil drilling moratorium, saying it would end by 30 November or sooner and it would no longer be based on water depths.
“More than eighty days into the BP oil spill, a pause on deepwater drilling is essential and appropriate to protect communities, coasts, and wildlife from the risks that deepwater drilling currently pose,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
“I am basing my decision on evidence that grows every day of the industry’s inability in the deepwater to contain a catastrophic blowout, respond to an oil spill, and to operate safely,” he added.
The revised ban does not suspend offshore activities based on water depth, but on the basis of “drilling configurations and technologies,” the department said.
The previously announced drilling ban, which was blocked by the courts, affected drilling in waters more than 500 feet (152 meters) deep.
The revised moratorium follows a US appeals court decision last week that the US government’s first plan for suspending deepwater drilling was too broad and failed to take into account its economic impact.