Drilling Moratorium A Manmade Disaster - Louisiana Governor

11th Jun 2010 03:33

GRAND ISLE, La. (AFP)--Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Thursday called a six-month moratorium imposed on exploratory offshore drilling a manmade disaster that will only compound the state's suffering in the wake of a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. "Our bottom line is that we absolutely want drilling to be done safely, but it shouldn't take months of federal government committees and meetings," Jindal told reporters Thursday. "Just because the federal government can't do their jobs doesn't mean thousands of Louisianans should lose their jobs." Jindal called on residents to lobby President Barack Obama to lift the moratorium with the help of a dedicated website set up by the newly formed Gulf Economic Survival Team. He spoke hours before federal officials announced that their estimate of the amount of oil gushing out of the ruptured wellhead about 52 miles offshore had doubled to as much as 40,000 barrels of oil a day. At least 40 million gallons of crude has already poured into the Gulf, and perhaps double that. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez tanker leaked roughly 11 million gallons into the sea off the Alaskan coast in 1989. The moratorium has shut down 33 deepwater drilling rigs currently operating in the Gulf and experts say it could take six years to replace them because demand for rigs is so high. Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu also called on Obama to lift the moratorium before it drives all the deepwater drilling rigs to other countries. "This is one company. This is one well. And it's a terrible situation and nobody's making light of it," Landrieu told ABC's Good Morning America. "But what I'm saying, as strongly as I can to this president, is the economic analysis is devastating to many companies, thousands of companies, from Houston to Mobile." The Louisiana Department of Economic Development estimates that the active drilling suspension will result in a loss of 3,000 to 6,000 Louisiana jobs in the first two to three weeks and potentially over 10,000 Louisiana jobs within a few months. "This moratorium is about more than just numbers, it is about the very livelihoods of our people, families, and communities," Jindal said, noting that in many coastal communities 1 in 3 jobs is linked to the oil and gas industry. Jindal noted that eight of the 15 experts who advised Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on how to improve the safety of offshore drilling have said they never agreed to the six-month drilling moratorium. "When I met with President Obama last Friday, I expressed my very serious concerns about his deepwater drilling moratorium and the harmful effects it is having on our economy," Jindal said. "We're calling on the president to ramp up the inspection and regulatory process at the Minerals Management Service so we are not facing this shut down for six months, and especially not 12 to 18 months, as Morgan Stanley investment analysts expect." An estimated 33% of the nation's domestic oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Eighty percent of the Gulf's oil and 45% of its natural gas comes from operations in more than 1,000 feet of water. (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 10, 2010 22:33 ET (02:33 GMT)