Gulf rig count 'unsustainable' without quicker permits

摘要

Washington-Slow permitting caused by tougher standards-not politics-has made the deepwater rig count in the US Gulf of Mexico "unsustainable" and could drive away as many as 20 rigs, investment bank FBR Capital Markets said September 7. The analysts blamed the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement's sluggish pace on approving permits on higher safety standards put in place after the BP Macondo well blowout in April 2010.