Last year the Deepwater Horizon rig on the Macondo well exploded, releasing 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of 87 days and killing 11 workers.
And now — less than a year afterwards, according to The New York Times — BP is requesting permission to drill in the Gulf.
According to The Washington Post, BP hopes to obtain permits to drill in ten wells, none of them exploratory or near the Macondo well. BP was the largest leaseholder and oil driller in the Gulf before the accident, producing 400,000 barrels of oil a day.
“(Before the spill) BP was the Gulf of Mexico,” said Fadel Gheit, managing director and senior analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., to The Washington Post. “Many people said BP would be put in the penalty box. I’m not so sure.”
Allowing BP to resume drilling will increase oil production, decreasing gas prices and increasing job opportunities. But, there is still the concern of safety.
The New York Times reports that BP is still paying costs associated with the blowout. The Justice Department is also considering a range of penalties against BP — including manslaughter for the 11 workers killed in last year’s explosion — as well as damages to local communities.
Despite this, BP is still hopeful that it will be able to start drilling projects this summer. BP states that it needs to resume drilling in the Gulf in order to pay the claims raised by the government, businesses, and individuals.
“We’re making progress but it’s not a ‘yes’ yet,” said one BP official to The New York Times.
The Interior Department Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement denies any allegations that the department is forming an accord with BP.
“There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that there is some agreement with BP,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to Fox News.
President Barack Obama’s moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf expired in October of 2010, but it was not until February 2011 that the first new permit was issued to Noble Energy. Since then BOEMRE has issued permits to Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and BHP Billiton, but no agreement has been formed with BP, reports The New York Times.
According to The New York Times, all companies have agreed to stricter safety regulations that include new well designs, casing and cementing, and a third party verification that safety devices are working correctly.
Whether these safety regulations are going to be enforced remains a question.
“(Safety regulation enforcement) takes money,” said Dana Professor of Biology Lynne Moseley. “Congress is trying to find budget cuts. What’s going to happen to the funding to make sure that these oil wells are properly regulated? They can do their job, but if we don’t improve regulations and train better staff, it’s only a matter of time until there will be another Deepwater Horizon.”
The permits come as gas prices rise because of conflicts in the Middle East, reports The New York Times. Obama said in a statement that the administration was hoping to decrease the dependence on foreign oil. However, environmental groups say it is still too early to issue permits, as last year’s accident is still being investigated.