The Interior Department's plan to complete supplemental environmental reviews could prevent the U.S. government from holding a Gulf of Mexico lease sale next year, making 2011 the first year since 1965 that no Gulf leases would be sold for U.S. offshore oil production.

As API's Upstream Director Erik Milito explained to reporters yesterday, adding the supplemental reviews could lead to long delays. "Our concern remains how soon they'll be able to get this work done," he said.

Before holding the 2011 sales, the government plans to complete a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), gather public comments, and finalize the EIS. While the industry is hopeful that the work can be done quickly and adequately address any environmental concerns, it is quite possible t... more »

A new Rasmussen poll shows that support for offshore oil and natural gas development is holding steady despite the Deepwater Horizon accident. In a survey conducted July 22-23 via telephone, 56 percent of U.S. voters think offshore drilling should be allowed, and 47 percent favor deepwater drilling.

Unfortunately, new offshore development has ground to a standstill, and shallow-water drilling operators have discovered that complying with the government's new requirements is quite difficult. Blogger Vladimir at RedState says, "Operators have encountered road blocks at every turn."

The recertification of blowout preventers (BOPs) is one of the major obstacles. Only a few firms are licensed to perform the certifications, creating a backlog of operators whose BOPs must be recertified before ge... more »