First, BP denied any oil leak from the well at all. We were told the oil slick came from the Deepwater Horizon fuel tanks. Then the leak was called “minimal.” Over the next two months BP acknowledged 1000 barrels per day, and finally over 25,000 barrels per day, even though BP knew they were low-balling the number.The Obama administration deepwater drilling moratorium has shut down 27 deepwater drilling rigs until the cause of the BP drilling disaster can be determined and new safety regulations put in place.The oil industry now claims that “rigs will move out of the Gulf of Mexico and never return” and “50,000 jobs will be lost.” The fact is, some rigs may move, but the vast majority will stay right here. OnlyIn the entire Gulf of Mexico there 3858 oil platforms that produce or move oil and gas to land-based facilities. There are 244 offshore drilling rigs. Currently only 38 are drilling, 40 are involved in workover operations (existing oil well maintenance) and 59 are “ready stacked” (available to go to work within a few weeks). Sixty-nine rigs are what is called “cold stacked” , they are in effect, “mothballed” , not ready to go to work without weeks or even months of preparation. They have no crew to drill a well and no provisions on board. It is an expensive undertaking to prepare the rig for a job.The administration moratorium only affects deepwater wells. Only 13% or 1 in 7 rigs are affected. There are only 36 deepwater drilling rigs; 2 are drilling relief wells to kill the BP blowout. Four are doing workover operations. Seven are undergoing maintenance or inspection. This leaves 22 rigs actually affected by the moratorium that are waiting on the new federal regulations.So we have 50,000 jobs at stake based on 34 drilling rigs. That is difficult to believe.Of course 50,000 is based the worst-case scenario (and truly impossible supposition) that almost all of the rigs will leave the Gulf. Which brings up another point. If BP and the industry believed a blowout of this proportion was “unthinkable” (pre-BP drilling disaster), why is it they use exaggerated worst-case estimates for Gulf Coast job losses? Hmmmm?In the “feast and famine” oil industry, it may be just another example oilfield “bluff and bluster?” It usually works on congress….BP has proved that the offshore drilling industry needs firm regulation that gives safety for the workers and our environment the highest priority.
