EDITORIAL: We're glad to see moratorium lifted for offshore rigs, but will feds, oil industry get the drift?
We’re glad to see the lifting of a moratorium on deep-water drilling rigs lifted a month and a half before it was to end on Nov. 30 but nevertheless hope some lessons have been learned.
For one thing, the federal government should think twice about blaming the offshore oil industry when federal inspectors charged with inspecting rigs have been hindered by lackadaisical attitudes and, often enough, outright conflicts of interest.
Even now, we’re not sure of the government’s resolve in this regard. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that no surprise inspections have been conducted on oil rigs in the Gulf since 2004, even though laws require such inspections be conducted.
The moratorium was imposed April 20 after a Deepwater Horizon rig erupted into flames and collapsed into the Gulf, killing 11 and causing the worst oil spill in our nation’s history.
While we await evidence of government resolve in improving its inspections of deep-water rigs, we can only hope that leaders in the offshore oil and gas industry also got the message after the black eye that BP got after death at sea and an environmental catastrophe whose full effects have yet to be fully determined. (Scientists tell us much of the oil didn’t simply evaporate but instead settled at the bottom of the Gulf, where it continues to impact sea life.)
New federal rules include certifying that rigs have working blowout preventers and meet standards for cementing wells. Rules also require CEOs to assume responsibility for ensuring the rules are followed.
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