The moratorium on deepwater drilling introduced after the accident on a BP oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted, RIA Novosti reports, citing US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
The secretary clarified that this only concerns operators of oil platforms that follow all standards of the Department of the Interior.
The head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Michael Bromwich clarified that they will not hand out licenses without the necessary additional information on safety measures from operators.
The Deepwater Horizon platform sunk in the Gulf of Mexico near State Louisiana on April 22 after a 36-hour fire, followed by an explosion that killed 11 people. 4.9 million barrels of oil were spilt. Barack Obama“s administration introduced a drilling ban on the shelf on July 13 until November 30. The previous moratorium was lifted on June 22 by the Federal Court of New Orleans.
