Bush Administration Proposes Letting Oil Companies Drill Offshore

[babylonsister]

Bush Administration Proposes Letting Oil Companies Drill Offshore

By STEPHEN POWER


WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, in one of its final acts, is proposing to let oil companies drill for oil and natural gas in half a dozen areas of the outer continental shelf that had been previously been off limits to drilling, a move that will reopen the debate over offshore drilling for President-elect Barack Obama.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the director of the federal agency that manages the nation's offshore oil and gas reserves said his agency would formally open a 60-day public comment period Friday on whether to allow leasing for oil and natural gas in all of some portion of 12 areas of the shelf, including four areas off Alaska, two off the Pacific coast, three areas in the Gulf of Mexico and three more along the Atlantic coast.

Six of the sites -- those located off California, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and along the Atlantic seaboard -- had previously been off limits to development under a quarter-century old federal moratorium that congressional Democrats allowed to expire last fall amid intense voter anger over high gas prices.

While none of the sales would occur before 2011, the proposal puts some pressure on Mr. Obama's administration to decide what additional areas of the outer continental shelf, if any, should be open to oil and gas production. Mr. Obama has said he is open to allowing additional offshore drilling, but only if it is part of a "comprehensive" energy proposal, including new support for alternative energy and efficiency measures.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123211817360590363.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

[spanone]

1. they go out with their middle fingers in the air.....

[babylonsister]

2. At this point, I'd be surprised if it was any other way. nt