Biden Seeks to Bolster Deepwater Horizon-Era Mandates Trump Eased
The Interior Department is advancing new requirements for emergency devices designed to be a last line of defense against runaway oil wells.
Photographer: Mario Mama/Getty Images
The Biden administration on Monday moved to stiffen offshore oil drilling safety measures that were imposed in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster but later eased under former President Donald Trump.
Most of the proposed changes take aim at blowout preventers, emergency devices meant to to be a final check against runaway wells. The devices drew scrutiny after a BOP failed to keep crude and flammable gas in check at BP Plc’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico more than a decade ago. The resulting explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed the largest oil spill in US history. The Interior Department estimates the requirements would cost an estimated $2.4 million over 10 years, hiking costs for companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico even as energy supply concerns stoke calls for more production.