Feds Deliberately Dragging Their Feet Issuing Permits To Shallow Water Oil Rigs in the Gulf

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association says prior to the Oil Moratorium, at least 56 permits were issued to the Shallow Water Oil Rigs in the Gulf in the months of February, March and April. But after the Moratorium, only 4 Permits were issued for the month of June and July (These are rigs exempt from the moratorium)


fox8live

More than 3 months after the implementation of the Oil Moratorium on Deep Water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, only the Rigs operating in shallow waters are allowed to operate in the Gulf. But the owners of those Shallow Water Rigs say despite what federal officials say, they've not been responding fast enough to their drilling permit requests.

That has left many Rig operators like Hercules 451 sitting idle and crews anxious about the future of their jobs.
Rig worker Kenny Wright, expressed the fears of many of his co-workers, " You wake up, you don't know what's going to happen the next days. Don't know if you're going to get laid off."

They say they can't understand why it is taking the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement more than a month to approve new permits, if their Rigs are exempt from the Moratorium

The workers say what people don't realize is that the delay of work permits doesn't just affect the Rig workers and the Oil and Gas Companies. Rig worker, Willie Alexander says, "You go shut down Truck drivers. You go shut down the people that build all the equipment, and those that work on the equipment . I got friends who drive trucks. Lots of things they deliver is for the Docks for drilling." They also point to the many vessels in Port Fourchon, which provide supplies or transport the workers to the rigs. They're now sitting without work because of the lack of working now happening in the Gulf