NEWSMAX: A ban on deepwater drilling may no longer be needed now that the oil industry and the government appear to have developed safer drilling regimes, an expert panel said Thursday in a report to the presidential commission investigating the Gulf oil spill.
The report by the Bipartisan Policy Center is likely to boost oil industry groups and Gulf Coast lawmakers who are pushing to end the six-month drilling moratorium before its scheduled Nov. 30 expiration.
The moratorium allowed time for both industry and government to make offshore drilling safer, the report said. The report praised steps taken by the Interior Department to increase safety of so-called blowout preventers and improve the integrity and control of deepwater wells… (more)
