Deep-Water Stalemate Pits Explorers Against Regulators

Eight months after BP Plc tried using a device the size of a motor home to snuff out the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, top oil companies haven’t convinced regulators they can prevent another disaster.

The U.S. Interior Department is refusing to issue deep-water exploration permits because energy companies haven’t shown they have “access to and can deploy containment resources” to deal with out-of-control wells on the sea floor, Melissa Schwartz, an agency spokeswoman, said yesterday.