WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) - The decision on whether to
resume issuing offshore drilling permits will be made after
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sends his report on the BP oil
spill to the White House this week, a department official told
Reuters on Monday.
Shortly after BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf, President Barack Obama ordered that no new offshore drilling permits be issued until Salazar's 30-day review of the spill was completed.
'All decisions will be made after he submits the report to the president,' said the official on whether permits will be issued again.
The White House said it expects to get Salazar's report on Thursday and that President Obama would likely talk publicly about it when the report arrives.
Some U.S. lawmakers have called on the administration to lift the ban on new permits in the shallow waters of the Gulf, and leave it in place for the deep waters where the BP accident occurred.
Salazar's report could also recommend whether the department should go ahead with its next lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico scheduled for Aug. 18. Salazar said last week the department was considering whether to delay that lease sale.
The 18.8 million offshore acres that would be offered to oil companies in the lease sale could produce between 242 million and 423 million barrels of crude oil.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett; additional reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
((tom.doggett@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 202 898-8320; Reuters Messaging:tom.doggett.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: OIL LEAK/PERMITS (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-5546) 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.
Shortly after BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf, President Barack Obama ordered that no new offshore drilling permits be issued until Salazar's 30-day review of the spill was completed.
'All decisions will be made after he submits the report to the president,' said the official on whether permits will be issued again.
The White House said it expects to get Salazar's report on Thursday and that President Obama would likely talk publicly about it when the report arrives.
Some U.S. lawmakers have called on the administration to lift the ban on new permits in the shallow waters of the Gulf, and leave it in place for the deep waters where the BP accident occurred.
Salazar's report could also recommend whether the department should go ahead with its next lease sale in the western Gulf of Mexico scheduled for Aug. 18. Salazar said last week the department was considering whether to delay that lease sale.
The 18.8 million offshore acres that would be offered to oil companies in the lease sale could produce between 242 million and 423 million barrels of crude oil.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett; additional reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
((tom.doggett@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 202 898-8320; Reuters Messaging:tom.doggett.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: OIL LEAK/PERMITS (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-5546) 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.