Another Obamanomics misfire - Drilling halt may be worse than oil spill - critics
Leroy N. Soetoro
* Coastal areas, hurt by spill, also dependent on oil
* Critics worry ban will extend longer than six months
* Vitter, Jindal ask Obama to minimize harm to economy
By Eileen O'Grady and Bruce Nichols
HOUSTON, June 3 (Reuters) - A backlash is building against the Obama
administration's offshore drilling moratorium, which some argue worsens
the harm to a Gulf Coast economy already losing fishing and tourism
business to the oil spill.
Louisiana politicians, including Sen. David Vitter and Governor Bobby
Jindal, have sent letters to President Barack Obama urging reconsideration
of the May 27 executive order.
"It's the wrong thing to do at the wrong time," said Chris John, a former
member of Congress who is now president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil
and Gas Association.
"It may be good politics, but it is bad economics," said Bernard
Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern
Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas.
"The last thing we need is to enact public policies that will certainly
destroy thousands of existing jobs while preventing the creation of
thousands more," Jindal wrote in a letter dated Wednesday. Vitter sent a
similar letter Thursday.
The order to idle 33 deepwater rigs could sideline as many as 7,000 highly
paid rig workers and cost four to five times as many support jobs at
catering, service boat and drilling supply companies, the oil and gas
association said.
As a result, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Chevron
(CVX.N), Marathon (MRO.N) and other companies have begun curtailing Gulf
of Mexico operations to comply with the moratorium.
John said great harm has been done to the environment, fishing and
tourism, so care needs to be taken to avoid a repeat of the April 20
explosion at a BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) rig that killed 11 workers and started
the nation's worst oil spill.
But John worries the moratorium could drag on longer than the announced
six months as a special commission created by the president organizes and
studies the disaster and companies work to comply with new regulations.
"If this is tied to the commission he's set up, I've never met a
commission that's reported to Congress on time," John said.
Even in coastal areas partially dependent on fishing and tourism damaged
by the spill, local officials want offshore drilling to continue.
"Quite frankly, if we can't get the president to reconsider, then the oil
on the beach is the least of our worries. Our economy will be decimated,"
said Charlotte Randolph, president of coastal LaFourche Parish.
Nine out of 10 of the top taxpayers in LaFourche Parish have facilities at
Port Fourchon, a huge offshore oil industry service port on the Gulf
Coast, Randolph said. Seven of nine parish council members have oil-
related jobs, she said.
"In terms of capital expenditures and wages, offshore drilling has to have
a bigger economic impact than fishing," Weinstein said.
The moratorium could hurt the entire U.S. economy and energy security,
critics said.
Thirty percent of U.S. domestically produced oil and 13 percent of natural
gas comes from the Gulf, and 80 percent of the Gulf's oil and 45 percent
of its gas comes from waters deeper than 1,000 feet (305 meters),
government data show.
"This could have a serious and long-term negative impact on specific
regions and industries and wind up increasing our reliance on imported
oil," Weinstein said. FACTBOX on other Gulf operators targeted for
shutdown: [ID:nN02184586] FACTBOX describing details of the drilling ban
and proposed safety recommendations: [ID:nN01123942]
--
Nancy Pelosi, Democrat criminal, accessory before and after the fact, to
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel of New York's
million dollar tax evasion. On February 25, 2010, the House ethics
committee has concluded that Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B.
Rangel knowingly accepted Caribbean trips in violation of House rules that
forbid hidden financing by corporations. Democrat criminal Nancy Pelosi
is deliberately ignoring the million dollar tax evasion of Democrat
Charles Rangel.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to be forced to remove Charles B. Rangel
from the House Ways and Means Committee.
Felony President.
Obama violated the law by trying to buy Joe Sestak off with a political
appointment in exchange for not pursuing an election bid to replace Arlen
Specter. Obama violated the law by trying to buy former Colorado House
Speaker Andrew Romanoff off last fall to see if he'd be interested in an
administration job -- instead of running against Sen. Michael Bennet.
18 USC, Sec. 600. Promise of employment or other benefit for political
activity
Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position,
compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or
made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special
consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as
consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the
support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in
connection with any general or special election to any political office,
or in connection with any primary election or political convention or
caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
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