New offshore drilling rules announced

The Obama administration is set to release new rules for offshore oil drillers as it prepares to lift a ban on deepwater drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce the new rules, including some that address workplace safety, at a speech today. The rules are likely to include many of the recommendations made in a report Salazar released in May, including requirements that rigs certify that they have working blowout preventers and standards for cementing wells. The well and blowout preventer failed in April, leading to the massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Salazar told The New York Times he expected oil companies to complain, but to quickly come into compliance. “We’ll hear from industry that the regulations are too onerous, but the fact is, it’s a new day,” he says. Salazar has said new rules must be in place before the Interior Department lifts its temporary ban on exploratory drilling. The ban is set to expire Nov. 30, but officials have said they hope to end it early. Salazar gave The Times no hint of when the ban will be lifted. “We will lift it at our own time and when we’re ready, and not based on political pressure from anyone,” he says.