By Edith Honan
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Any effort to limit off-shore drilling in the wake of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill would be a 'gross over-reaction' that would further batter the Louisiana economy, the state's treasurer said on Friday.
'I think that it would be a gross over-reaction to stop drilling,' State Treasurer John Kennedy told Reuters. 'Do we need to learn from our mistakes? Certainly we do.'
Off-shore drilling drives nearly a third, or $65 billion, of the state's economy in direct and indirect revenue, Kennedy said.
At least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 litres) of crude per day continue to gush out of an underwater well that ruptured on April 20 when a British Petroleum-leased oil rig exploded and sank.
Kennedy said it is still too early to assess the total impact of the disaster on the state's economy, but he said tourism and commercial fishing -- which together account for about five percent of the state's revenue -- have taken a hit.
The state has closed less than ten percent of its water to fishing as a precaution and Kennedy said there had been no reports of contaminated seafood.
Commercial fishing in Louisiana supplies about a quarter of all seafood produced in the continental United States, according to a report on the Louisiana economy by New York-based Miller Tabak Asset Management.
The state is also the leading producer of shrimp, the report said.
Kennedy said there was no evidence the spill had impacted traffic at the state's ports. Louisiana has five of the largest ports in the United States.
In a separate interview on Tuesday with Reuters Insider, Kennedy said the spill did not appear to be nearly as devastating for the state as Hurricane Katrina was in 2005.
'It will not help our overall state revenues for the current fiscal year,' Kennedy said of the spill.
Kennedy said he did not expect the spill to impact Louisiana's credit rating and he said the state was currently considering litigating to recoup its losses from the spill.
'We expect to be compensated to the full extent of our loss and that will be discussed and litigated in the coming days,' he said.
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For a link to a Reuters Insider video, please click on:
http://link.reuters.com/ryq63k
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(Reporting by Edith Honan; Additional reporting by Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Andrew Hay)
((edith.honan@thomsonreuters.com; 646 223 6323;) Keywords: LOUISIANA OILSPILL
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Any effort to limit off-shore drilling in the wake of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill would be a 'gross over-reaction' that would further batter the Louisiana economy, the state's treasurer said on Friday.
'I think that it would be a gross over-reaction to stop drilling,' State Treasurer John Kennedy told Reuters. 'Do we need to learn from our mistakes? Certainly we do.'
Off-shore drilling drives nearly a third, or $65 billion, of the state's economy in direct and indirect revenue, Kennedy said.
At least 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 litres) of crude per day continue to gush out of an underwater well that ruptured on April 20 when a British Petroleum-leased oil rig exploded and sank.
Kennedy said it is still too early to assess the total impact of the disaster on the state's economy, but he said tourism and commercial fishing -- which together account for about five percent of the state's revenue -- have taken a hit.
The state has closed less than ten percent of its water to fishing as a precaution and Kennedy said there had been no reports of contaminated seafood.
Commercial fishing in Louisiana supplies about a quarter of all seafood produced in the continental United States, according to a report on the Louisiana economy by New York-based Miller Tabak Asset Management.
The state is also the leading producer of shrimp, the report said.
Kennedy said there was no evidence the spill had impacted traffic at the state's ports. Louisiana has five of the largest ports in the United States.
In a separate interview on Tuesday with Reuters Insider, Kennedy said the spill did not appear to be nearly as devastating for the state as Hurricane Katrina was in 2005.
'It will not help our overall state revenues for the current fiscal year,' Kennedy said of the spill.
Kennedy said he did not expect the spill to impact Louisiana's credit rating and he said the state was currently considering litigating to recoup its losses from the spill.
'We expect to be compensated to the full extent of our loss and that will be discussed and litigated in the coming days,' he said.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a link to a Reuters Insider video, please click on:
http://link.reuters.com/ryq63k
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(Reporting by Edith Honan; Additional reporting by Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Andrew Hay)
((edith.honan@thomsonreuters.com; 646 223 6323;) Keywords: LOUISIANA OILSPILL
COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.