Trump Gives Oil Drillers More Leeway by Easing Post-Spill Rule
- Interior rewrites strict mandates governing offshore wells
- Companies would have more flexibility on managing the sites
Photographer: Tim Rue/Bloomberg
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The Trump administration is giving oil companies more flexibility when drilling offshore, by easing Obama-era mandates imposed in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 workers and unleashed the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The Interior Department measure rewrites some provisions of a 2016 well-control rule, following industry complaints it imposed rigid and arbitrary requirements that ignore unique characteristics at offshore drilling sites, including their varying geological conditions, pressures and temperatures.