After Gulf Blast, Drilling Ban Debate Intensifies

(Sept. 2) -- The explosion and fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has intensified the debate over the Obama administration's temporary ban on deepwater drilling in the gulf, even though the accident apparently did not involve drilling and the ban doesn't apply to the installation because it's in shallow water.

Still, coming so soon after BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster, calls for extending the moratorium -- or possibly expanding it -- gushed forth before the fire on the platform had been extinguished.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, fired off a letter to Mariner Energy Inc., which owns the platform, asking for a full briefing of the incident "and its possible cause" by Sept. 10. The panel, which called then-BP CEO Tony Hayward in for a daylong grilling in June, is one of multiple committees investigating the BP spill.

The Sierra Club declared offshore drilling "too dangerous" to continue. Oceana, another environmental group, said in a statement that Thursday's accident "underscores the need for the U.S. to maintain its moratorium on all new offshore oil and gas drilling."

The 850,000-member United Steelworkers International said in a statement, "We need to make sure all these rigs in the Gulf are safe to operate before we put personnel back to work on them." The union also urged that offshore workers and businesses affected by the moratorium be given "adequate assistance" while the ban is in place.

"A lot of people will use this [explosion] as ammunition to push the moratorium longer," Don Van Nieuwenhuise, director of the University of Houston's petroleum geosciences programs, told AOL News. "It's unfortunate that it happened so soon after the last big one. Everyone is hypersensitive."

He added that, based on what he knew Thursday afternoon, the platform fire appeared to be "relatively insignificant compared with the BP accident." Indeed, the Coast Guard said by late afternoon that the fire was out and there was no sign of any oil leak.

Rick Muller, senior analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Boston, told Reuters the accident will "make it less likely that the moratorium on offshore drilling will be lifted."

Meanwhile, debate in Congress will also focus on legislation that would make it difficult for BP to operate in the gulf -- even as BP is warning that if Congress passes a bill that would bar the oil giant from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may be unable to pay for all the damage it caused, the New York Times reports.

The House passed a bill overhauling offshore drilling July 30 that contained an amendment, offered by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., barring any company with a record of more than 10 fatalities from receiving permits to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf. It also would deny permits to companies that had incurred fines of $10 million under the Clean Water Act within a seven-year period.

"The fact is, British Petroleum does not fit America's expectations for how a responsible company should act," Miller said.
BP is the only company that fits the criteria.

The Senate version of the bill limits lease sales to operators "with good track records," according to an Energy and Natural Resources Committee summary of its key points. BP is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Times. The gulf accounts for 11 percent of its global production.

The platform that exploded Thursday, named for its location at Vermilion Block 380, is not a drilling operation as was BP's. It blew up at 10:20 a.m. EDT; 13 workers spent about two hours in the water before they were rescued. None was seriously injured. The platform stands in 340 feet of water about 100 miles off Vermilion Bay on the sole of Louisiana's boot.

BP's April 20 blowout, which killed 11 workers and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history, occurred in water 5,000 feet deep and prompted President Barack Obama to impose a six-month moratorium on exploratory drilling in water deeper than 500 feet. Louisiana officials, led by Gov. Bobby Jindal, opposed the ban. Jindal warned it could seriously harm the state's economy.

The moratorium is being fought out in federal court. When a federal judge struck down the ban, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a second moratorium, while the Justice Department appealed. Before Thursday's explosion, the Obama administration had signaled that it would consider lifting the moratorium early.

More Coverage:

- Oil Platform Explodes Off Louisiana Coast; 13 Rescued
- What Exploded in Vermilion Bay: An Oil Rig or a Platform?
- Oil Platform Explosion Causes Panic Over Unconfirmed New Spill
- Vermilion Bay: 3 Things to Know About Gulf Oil Platform Explosion Site
- Mariner Energy: What You Need to Know about the Owner of Vermilion 380