The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Monday urged the U.S. 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.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Monday urged the
U.S.
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 rig leased by BP PLC (BP) rig off
Louisiana
killed 11 workers, with the cost to BP pegged Monday at $2.65 billion.
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 the EU 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 said: "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 U.S. President Barack Obama.
A
U.S.
judge
ruled last week against the six-month freeze imposed on deep-water drilling in
the
Gulf of Mexico
, which the White House immediately said it would
appeal.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Πεμ, 10 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 19:39
Πεμ, 10 Οκτωβρίου 2024 - 19:36
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32