Bob
SoWal Insider
Oil spill: First deep-water drilling permit issued for Gulf of Mexico since BP oil spill - latimes.com First deep-water drilling permit issued for gulf since BP oil spill
The new well will track one plugged after a moratorium. Obama administration officials say pressure from courts and Congress did not affect the decision, but that the firm met new safety rules. By Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau
March 1, 2011
Reporting from Washington ?
The Obama administration issued the first new deep-water drilling permit for the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil spill, stoking cautious optimism Monday among some industry executives and Gulf Coast politicians about local oil and gas exploration.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement approved a permit for the Houston-based company Noble Energy to drill a so-called bypass well in 6,500 feet of water about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La.
The new well would track one started in April 2010 but plugged two months later, when the government established a moratorium on deep-water drilling in response to BP's well blowout. Noble's new drilling would go around the plugs to reach the oil.
The administration's announcement comes as Interior Department officials face growing pressure from the courts and Congress to speed up the approval process. Not a single new well has been drilled in deep water since the April 20 BP oil spill, which killed 11 workers and spewed more than 200 million gallons of crude into the gulf....the folks in Louisiana are optimistic....isn't that nice
The new well will track one plugged after a moratorium. Obama administration officials say pressure from courts and Congress did not affect the decision, but that the firm met new safety rules. By Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau
March 1, 2011
Reporting from Washington ?
The Obama administration issued the first new deep-water drilling permit for the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil spill, stoking cautious optimism Monday among some industry executives and Gulf Coast politicians about local oil and gas exploration.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement approved a permit for the Houston-based company Noble Energy to drill a so-called bypass well in 6,500 feet of water about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La.
The new well would track one started in April 2010 but plugged two months later, when the government established a moratorium on deep-water drilling in response to BP's well blowout. Noble's new drilling would go around the plugs to reach the oil.
The administration's announcement comes as Interior Department officials face growing pressure from the courts and Congress to speed up the approval process. Not a single new well has been drilled in deep water since the April 20 BP oil spill, which killed 11 workers and spewed more than 200 million gallons of crude into the gulf....the folks in Louisiana are optimistic....isn't that nice
