Monday, September 27, 2010

Reilly Said Drilling Moratorium to End Soon

Bloomberg reported:

President Barack Obama’s moratorium on deep-water drilling is likely to end before it is set to expire Nov. 30, said William Reilly, co-chairman of a presidential panel probing the BP Plc spill.
“I’ll be amazed if the moratorium is not lifted before November 30,” Reilly said today in an interview on Bloomberg Television. It’s unclear “why it’s taking so long” to restart deep-water drilling, he said.


The Reilly led Oil Spew Commission met in Washington, D.C.  Highlights included:

BP still can't answer why they promised a significant skimming capacity, yet never delivered.

Various government officials said a strategic decision was made to disperse (sink) the oil. 

Retired Admiral Thad Allen stated the perception of the response from the America public and government leaders were an impediment to response efforts.  Sorry Thad, blaming the victims is not very responsive.

Coast Guard Admiral Landry stated the oil spill was discovered on April 24.  The blowout occurred April 20.  The rig sank April 22. 

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, severely affected by the spill, told the oil spill commission he still doesn't know who is in charge.  "This was a disaster from the way it was handled from day one."

At an earlier hearing a USC Engineering professor weighed in on BP's internal investigative report.  He asked, "How could you call this great work accident investigation ... and not address human performance issues and organizational issues and decision-making issues?"  There's a difference between an investigation and a risk management report.  The Gulf Coast knows this well, having experienced it after Hurricane Katrina with the Bush Lessons Learned report..

It remains to be seen what happens with the spate of investigations currently under way.  Did they ever nail down the aim of Reilly's commission?

No comments: