You would think that after all the Chamber has done – Rally for Economic Survival, letter writing campaigns, lobbying, petitions – we would be celebrating the news that the federal deepwater drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico is lifted. Quite the contrary is the case.
As news of the lifting of moratorium was made public there was a moment of relief but the reality quickly overrode any sense of excitement. The reality is that the critical operative issue is the permitting process. Lifting the moratorium does no good if industry cannot obtain permits to go back to work.
Industry leaders are unfamiliar with the myriad of new regulations and uncertain of the process and the federal interpretation of it all. Those who are in the early stages of applications are stunned by the enormous documentation and other materials necessary to comply. Until there is more stability in the permitting process and clarity in regulations the rigs will remain idle.
As one industry observer commented those making the rules have "little knowledge of what they are regulating”.
Thus, the end of the moratorium is a paper victory.
