Editor's Note: The American Petroleum Institute (API), while pleased that the moratorium has been lifted, expressed concern today that a de facto moratorium could be created by delays in the processing and approval of permits, which will reduce production, government revenues and American jobs, according to a statement by API President and CEO Jack Gerard:

"While we are pleased that the Interior Department has lifted the deepwater moratorium, even more needs to be done to get American workers back on the job of exploring for, developing and producing the oil and natural gas to fuel our nation's economy.

"Without additional resources and a serious commitment by the government to process and approve permits and other requirements expeditiously, the moratorium will give way to a de facto m... more »

Few issues are as complicated and perplexing as Peak Oil. The study of this concept crosses into several disciplines--geology, sociology, engineering, and physics to name a few--and each is able to address only a part of the global dilemma that could be caused by rapidly dwindling oil supplies.

Presenters representing these disciplines and more discussed their findings on Peak Oil yesterday at the 2010 Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas (ASPO-USA) in Washington. Although they took different approaches in their research, they arrived at similar conclusions: Demand for oil is rising sharply in developing countries; global oil supplies aren't keeping pace with demand; and the consequences could be dire.

Here are a few of the observations offered by speakers at the ASPO conference:

• A... more »

Cuba appears to be preparing for an oil boom just south of the Florida coast.

According to newspaper articles and government reports, state-owned oil companies from several countries are interested in drilling in the island nation's territorial waters. The Wall Street Journal reports that Spanish-owned Repsol is planning to drill several wells about 50 miles from the Florida Keys next year. The Miami Herald says a rig will drill in about 5,600 feet of water about 22 miles north of Havana, and about 65 miles south of Florida's Marquesa Keys.

Cuba's northern waters could have significant undiscovered oil resources. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an estimated 4.6 billion barrels of oil could exist in the North Cub... more »

For months, numerous studies--such as this one from LSU professor Dr. Joseph Mason and another by Moody's Analytics--have demonstrated the significant economic impact the deepwater drilling moratorium could have on the Gulf and U.S. economies.

A Southern Methodist University (SMU) study released this week is no different, and it presents some alarming figures on the impact the de facto moratorium is having on shallow-water drilling.

According to Dr. Bernard L. Weinstein, associate director of SMU's Maguire Energy Institute, the Interior Department's slowdown in issuing new permits for shallow-water drilling operations could mean:

• 50,000 lost jobs;
• Economic losses of $4.3 billion that would occur if 75 percent of the rigs become idle as a result of fewer issued permits; and
• $12.5 billion i... more »

There have been numerous reports published over the last few months about the impact of the administration's de facto drilling moratorium on jobs and the economy in the Gulf region. The latest report released yesterday is authored by LSU professor Dr. Joseph Mason who finds that the Gulf region will lose more than 19,500 jobs, $5 billion in economic activity and nearly $240 million in state and local tax revenues during the six-month moratorium.

It's important to note that the 19,536 job loss estimate from Mason's report is 40 to 60 percent higher than the 8,000 to 12,000 jobs lost that the Obama administration estimated earlier this month, reflecting a significant difference between the two studies.

In the report, Dr. Mason is critical of the administration's analysis:

The Inter-Agency... more »