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Brussels (AFP) June 28, 2010 OPEC urged the United States on Monday to reconsider legal moves and ditch a ban on deep-water drilling slapped on the oil industry in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico disaster. "We should not really ban it and we should not jump to conclusions without serious study," OPEC secretary general Abdullah al-Badri said after meeting with European Union energy chiefs in Brussels. He said the oil business was re-examining its methods after an April 20 explosion at a BP-leased rig off Louisiana killed 11 workers, with the cost to BP pegged on Monday at 2.65 billion dollars (2.15 billion euros). The EU itself wants to take a closer look at drilling at depth in the North Sea off Scotland, where most of the bloc's oil reserves are to be found, and al-Badri said OPEC would engage with Brussels where relevant. Across the board, he said that "if there is any adjustment that has to be made to present operations we should make that, but we should really be very careful" about rushing in, with an eye on supply levels and the effect on price and the global economy. However, he reiterated: "I'm sure that the United States government is in limbo because they don't know what's going on in their operation and that's why they stopped their offshore operation. "We hope they will look again at their decision." Despite desperate efforts, BP is still not capping all of the 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil estimated to be spilling into the sea every day, saying it is managing to contain about 25,000 barrels daily. BP's share price has collapsed by more than 50 percent since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which the company operated sank on April 22, two days after the deadly blast. The environmental damage, safety concerns and now economic fears with oil workers and executives saying the ban is driving business out of the Gulf and costing them their livelihoods has turned the disaster into a political nightmare for US President Barack Obama. A US judge ruled last week against the six-month freeze imposed on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which the White House immediately said it would appeal.
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Energy needs to drive future deepwater drilling: Shell CEOCape Town (AFP) June 27, 2010 More deep-water drilling is needed to meet growing energy demands despite the Gulf of Mexico spill, but the industry must beef up its disaster readiness, Royal Dutch Shell chief said on Sunday. "My expectation is that we will go forward with it but it will need some changes," Peter Voser, Royal Dutch Shell chief executive officer told the CNN Global Forum. British rival BP is under fire ... read more |
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