Facing an angry tsunami from oil companies, oil company employees and oil company servicers in the Gulf Coast, the Obama Administration is set to quickly reopen drilling sites in the Gulf.And there you are. Gotta get those new shallow-water drilling regs out so that people can make new wells. Why, I'm sure the new regulations will include all sorts of brand-new strict safety measures for wells that will be even closer to shore than the one currently spewing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crap into the Gulf to make sure people aren't hurt and our environment isn't in danger.
The Administration will release new safety requirements in the wake of a massive BP oil spill. After a rig blew up and sunk in April, a drillhole created by BP began leaking tens of thousands of barrels of oil into the sea off the coast of Louisiana.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the oil industry claims "each deepwater rig employs 180 to 280 workers, with each of those jobs supporting another four industry workers, for a total potential loss of more than 40,000 jobs. The moratorium 'will result in crippling job losses and significant economic impacts for the Gulf region.'"
The Journal adds:
The oil industry is awaiting new safety regulations from the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service, which canceled some offshore drilling permits last week and has had others on hold since early May. Administration officials say new rules for shallow water oil and gas drilling could be released as soon as Tuesday.
It's not like the new regs will be the old regs with the words "please" attached to them, and it's not like pressure from the energy industry is forcing these regs be put out rather than taking the time to make the safest drilling possible in the wake of a man-made catastrophe that was caused by energy companies ignoring the existing regs.
Nope. I'm sure everything will be fine.
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