Report: BP to restart deepwater drilling in Gulf

[liberal N proud]

In a deal pitched to U.S. regulators, BP this summer plans to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico on existing wells in exchange for tougher safety rules, British media reported Sunday.

The London-based oil giant promised to abide by rules that are stricter than guidelines set after the April 20, 2010, blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers, The Sunday Times reported without citing its sources. The accident, which released almost 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, was the largest marine spill in U.S. history.

BP confirmed it had provided very detailed plans, the U.K. Press Association said Sunday.

The terms reportedly also include:

•Allowing U.S. regulators 24-hour access to any of its deepwater wells.
•No new exploratory drilling for now.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42400389/ns/business/

[ananda]

1. "When will we ever learn...

when will we ever learn?"

[ProSense]

2. Just

say no!

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BP hopes to resume in July drilling that was suspended after the disaster. It could seek approval for renewed exploratory drilling later in 2011, the Times reported.

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Environmental campaigner Greenpeace said that, if true, the report is "a poke in the eye not only to the environment but to investors," and a sign that despite management changes at BP little had fundamentally changed at the oil giant since the disaster.

<...>

On April 29, The Associated Press reported that manslaughter and perjury are among possible charges that Justice Department investigators are exploring in the early stages of their probe into the Gulf oil spill.

The Justice Department is not ruling out the possibility of bringing manslaughter charges against companies or managers responsible for the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers, the AP reported citing people familiar with the inquiry.

<...>

[juajen]

3. Well, we have only to protest and tell the truth; fat chance of that happening! NT