Why the Gulf of Mexico isn't dead in the water

摘要

Such is the nature of quarterly publications that it has been impossible to capture in full the ongoing political wrangles rapidly unfolding in response to the de facto moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (see page 31). While we could have filled our Rules & Regulations feature (page 24) with the extensive safety requirements laid down by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), early February to late March saw a volley of criticism fired at the Obama administration, with offshore oil and gas operators becoming increasingly disillusioned with what they perceive to be an unethical, even 'unlawful' degree of inertia, at governmental level, when it comes to the issuing of permits for new deep-water drilling projects.