The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) is committed to actively improving containment capabilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Please see the timeline below for progress to-date on the MWCC and the interim and expanded systems.
Posted on 02/26/2011 6:33:18 AM PST by thackney
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that U.S. regulators would not bow to political pressure to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico before they are certain the oil-and-gas industry is capable of containing an oil spill like the one that followed last BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Salazar and Michael Bromwich--the head of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which oversees offshore drilling--were in Houston Friday to meet with oil industry executives to assess the spill-containment systems they have developed in the wake of nation's worst-ever marine oil spill.
Bromwich said he was "quite confident that we are getting very close to the point where we can begin issuing deepwater permits." But he and Salazar said the industry still has work to do before exploration of the Gulf's deepest waters can resume.
The U.S. government shut down deepwater drilling shortly after the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, killing 11 and unleashing a catastrophic oil spill.
The government's official ban was lifted in October, but regulators have yet to allow drilling to resume in water deeper than 500 feet despite mounting political pressure from congressional Republicans and Gulf Coast Democrats to reopen one of the nation's primary energy fields.
"We don't respond to political pressure," Salazar said. "We are frankly doing what's right for America's energy program."
Both Helix Energy Solutions Group, whose system helped stem the flow of BP's runaway well last summer, and the nonprofit Marine Well Containment Co., formed by a consortium of major oil companies, say their systems are ready to respond to spills on par with Deepwater Horizon. But the nation's top energy regulators said that they felt differently.
"These containment systems are work in progress," Salazar told reporters after the meetings. "Both systems currently have limitations on water depth ...
(Excerpt) Read more at rigzone.com ...
What a crock! The ban is all about political pressure from the enviro-weenies and the hate-America socialist crowd!
The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) is committed to actively improving containment capabilities in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Please see the timeline below for progress to-date on the MWCC and the interim and expanded systems.
Then people ought to know who brought them $6 per gallon gas. Nope. Don’t bow to pressire Salazar, let people suffer!
“Political pressure”? What about the federal court decision against Salazar? Seems like that Court recently held the Department in “contempt”. Is that political pressure?
Bring the little worm up on charges for personally using his office to defy court order and destroy private business.
This isn’t about pressure. It’s about obeying the law. The Obama admin is refusing to obey the law. Obama is violating his oath of office.
Only under the clueless Empty Suit’s and his minion’s does Contempt of Court equal political pressure.
Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Only under the clueless Empty Suit and his minions does Contempt of Court equal political pressure.
In another manner of speaking, “Until the oil industry replaces the donations to Dems that are being lost as unions lose their power” we intend to hold the oil industry and the public who relies on affordable oil and gasoline hostage to our demands.
I agree with that. However i do wonder who is really pulling the strings.
I have seen a lot of speculation from Soros to Farrakhan to others. But I don't really know.
Another administration official/cabinet member who should be impeached, for utter stupidity and incompetence.
The O&G industry should do what Bambi does; just ignore the law and start drilling.
The cliff approaches and yet they insist on driving even faster.
Too angry to write!
Move along, nothing to see here.
It is called “projection”. Accusing your opponent of doing what you are actually doing.
When gasoline hits $5, remember who our friends were and weren’t
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