Industry leaders dismiss reports of increased drilling permits

Oil and gas industry leaders tell a Houma newspaper they don’t agree with federal reports claiming deepwater drilling has returned to pre-moratorium levels. Eileen Angelico, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement, says the rate of permitting is actually better than before the six-month drilling freeze that was lifted in October 2010. If old revised and reissued permits are accounted for, she says, the total goes up to 41 post-moratorium approvals, compared to 30 new well permits in 2009. “I cannot believe they said that, to be honest. If it were back to that level, then we’d have the activity,” Port Fourchon Executive Director Chett Chiasson tells The Courier. “All you see is pallets here. Typically, it was so busy, you couldn’t see the slip because the yard was so full.” Don Briggs, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, reportedly laughed when he heard the numbers given by Angelico. He maintains drilling levels in the entire Gulf of Mexico are at about half of what they were prior to the BP oil spill, when there were 61 offshore rigs. “I can’t imagine what they’re talking about,” Briggs says. “Dozens of companies are working on getting those permits and doing what they can to move the needle forward so they can go back to work.” Read the full story here.