SPIEF:US Unlikely To Take Excessive Steps On Oil Spill-Statoil

18th Jun 2010 15:21

ST PETERSBURG (Dow Jones)--The U.S. authorities are unlikely to take "excessive and unproductive" regulatory measures, following BP PLC's (BP) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an executive from oil major Statoil ASA (STO) said Friday. "Once the emotions have settled, I think rational measures will be taken," Peter Mellbye, head of exploration and production at Statoil, told Dow Jones Newswires. The Norwegian energy company, which produces around 50,000 barrels of oil a day from two wells in the Gulf of Mexico, was affected by the U.S. government's six-month moratorium on drilling and had to stop work on two wells. Mellbye believes the requirements of the U.S authorities will be adjusted to address the real risks. "At the end of the day, the U.S. still needs oil and has ambitions to be more self-reliant, so they have to do the right thing and not take excessive and unproductive measures," said Mellbye. "Normally in these cases you find that there was a human error," he added. -By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9198; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 18, 2010 10:21 ET (14:21 GMT)