Deep-Water Drilling Permits Down 88% in Gulf Since Obama Lifted Moratorium
Noelle Clemente /
This week’s announcement that 13 oil companies can resume activity in the Gulf of Mexico provided some hope the Obama administration might finally begin to approve drilling new permits. It couldn’t come soon enough.
Since the administration’s drilling moratorium was lifted in October, deep-water permit issuance is down 88 percent with only two new permits in that time. It’s only slightly better for shallow-water permits, which weren’t subjected to the moratorium, but are still down 11 percent.