Second Gulf Explosion Intensifies Debate Over Drilling Moratorium

(Sept. 2) — The explosion and fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico this day 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 rig because it’s in shallow water.

Still, coming so soon on the heels of 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 off-shore drilling “too dangerous” to continue. Oceana, another environmental group, stated in a statement that the latest accident “underscores the need for the U.S. to maintain its moratorium on all new off-shore oil and gas drilling.”

The 850,000-member United Steelworkers International stated 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 off-shore 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 huge one. Everyone is hypersensitive.”

He added that, based on what he knew this afternoon, the platform fire appeared to be “relatively insignificant compared with the BP accident.” Indeed, the Coast Guard stated late this 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 off-shore drilling will be lifted.”

The platform, 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 today’s explosion, the Obama administration had signaled that it would think about 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

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