New safety and spill-response regulations for offshore oil and gas drilling were issued today by the Interior Department. New safety and spill-response regulations for offshore oil and gas drilling were issued today by the Interior Department. While industry representatives say that they are able and willing to comply with the new rules, the real issue for oil companies is lifting the moratorium on deepwater drilling. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who presented the new regulations in a speech Thursday morning, refused to discuss when deepwater drilling would again be allowed.
"We will lift it at our own time and when we're ready, and not based on political pressure from anyone," Salazar told the New York Times. The moratorium is scheduled to be lifted on Nov. 30.