Gulf oil drilling ban overturned

Timon Singh

When the Obama administration implemented a six month offshore oil drilling ban in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it split the country down the middle.

On one side, many were happy to see offshore drilling stop while the country continues to stop the current spill and clean up the devastation left by the oil. There was also a hope that such a dramatic disaster would force the US to break its oil addiction and make a positive step towards embracing renewable forms of energy.

For the other side, the offshore drilling ban was a disaster, with some saying it was a knee-jerk reaction to the disaster and President Obama risked hurting states that relied on drilling and oil production. There was also a fear that if these rigs moved to other areas such as Brazil, the US economy would be severely crippled.

It would appear that a federal judge has agreed with the latter side, arguing that the oil drilling ban was put in place rashly by the government, who had concluded that because one rig had failed, others were in immediate danger.

Judge Martin Feldman said the ban was "invalid" and could not be justified, as the negative impact on local businesses was simply too great.

In his own words, he said, "An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in the depths over 500ft simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country."

"What seems clear is that the federal government has been pressed by what happened on the Deepwater Horizon into an otherwise sweeping confirmation that all Gulf deepwater drilling activities put us all in a universal threat of irreparable harm."

The White House has immediately countered Feldman's comments with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs saying President Obama "believes strongly that drilling at such depths does not make sense and puts the safety of workers "at a danger that (he) does not believe we can afford."

One thing is for certain, if the ban is overturned it will destroy any possibility of renewable energy making a strong push into the mainstream over the next six months as oil production continues as normal.

Feldman's ruling prohibits federal officials from enforcing the moratorium until a trial is held, for which a date has not been set.

Oil need

For the oil industry, the overturning of the ban comes as a major victory with BP's chief of staff saying the world would continue to need oil reserves from "new frontiers."

Speaking after the news broke, Westwell also said, "The world does need the oil and the energy that is going to have to come from deep water production going forward."

Steve Newman, chief executive of Transocean, who owned and operated the DeepWater rig that exploded, causing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill said to the BBC after the announcement, "There are things the [US] administration could implement today that would allow the industry to go back to work tomorrow without an arbitrary six-month time limit."

The fear that drilling rigs would leave the Gulf of Mexico for lucrative businesses in foreign waters was a major concern for many, both in government and in the industry with some senators saying the loss of business would cost the area thousands of lucrative jobs, most paying more than $50,000 a year.

For states where the only other source of income is tourism, something that has been hit hard by the spill, the ban could have been potentially cripplingly. Of course, there was nothing to prevent these states from implementing renewable energy schemes or jobs....

Despite the oil industry's arguments, the White House has also stressed that the six month moratorium would not cause the economic downfall that many have predicted with only 33 sites affected... out of 3,600 platforms in the Gulf.

Of course, the economic impact could be much higher if there is a second deepwater blowout.

Relevant articles:

The offshore drilling ban: Bad for the US? | Deep water drilling: An unacceptable risk? | How America can reduce its oil dependency