Huffman, Markey Lead Colleagues in Opposing Reckless Offshore Drilling Plan

Huffman, Markey Lead Colleagues in Opposing Reckless Offshore Drilling Plan

Washington, D.C. - Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Vice Ranking Member Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), and Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) wrote to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging the agency to reject BP's proposed Kaskida project in the Gulf of Mexico.

"This ultra-deepwater project represents an unacceptable threat to Gulf communities, ecosystems, and the climate, and BP's application fails to meet basic regulatory standards required for federal approval," wrote the lawmakers.

"Approving Kaskida would not only endanger lives and the Gulf ecosystem - it would also set a dangerous precedent for a new era of ultra-deep, high-risk drilling in the Gulf." The lawmakers continue, "Fifteen years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, we know the cost of safety shortcuts and weak oversight: workers' lives lost, livelihoods destroyed, and ecosystems scarred. BOEM has a duty to ensure that no project moves forward without meeting basic standards of safety, environmental protection, and public transparency. Kaskida falls short on every front."

Ultra-deepwater drilling takes place under extreme conditions, under far higher pressure and temperature than current deep-water drilling. "These extreme conditions make the Kaskida project inherently more dangerous, heightening the likelihood of equipment failure and uncontrolled blowouts," the lawmakers warn. BP's own proposal estimates that a blowout at the Kaskida project could result in a catastrophic oil spill of up to four million barrels, comparable to BP's Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Yet BP has not shown it has the required qualifications to operate in these conditions or necessary equipment to contain a disastrous high-pressure spill. "These deficiencies alone warrant application denial under BOEM's own regulations," state the lawmakers.

Read the full letter here.

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