BP in Talks With Interior To Resume Gulf of Mexico Deep-Water Drilling

"BP is in talks with the Interior Department about permits that would allow it to resume deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The company hopes that it can restart several projects sometime this summer.

The discussions come just before the anniversary of the April 20 blowout on the Deep­water Horizon rig that BP leased for an exploration well called Macondo. The blowout killed 11 workers, set the rig on fire and triggereda huge oil spill that gushed for 87 days.

BP hopes to ultimately obtain permission to begin drilling about 10 wells to boost output in fields that are already producing oil; none of them would be an exploration well, one of the sources said. No work would be done in the near future on the field discovered by the Macondo well."

Steven Mufson reports for the Washington Post April 3, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"BP Expected To Resume Drilling in Gulf of Mexico After Deal With Us Regulators" (Guardian)

"BP Seeks to Resume Drilling in Gulf of Mexico" (New York Times)