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In response to the April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, new safety rules were adopted by Congress to help insure that a similar disaster would be less likely to reoccur. Before the new legislation was passed, a total ban on drilling was enforced and a few months after the safety rules were legislated, the drilling ban was lifted.That was two months ago, and oil companies are still waiting for approval from the government to drill the first new oil well since the ban. The Obama administration is taking its time, with the approval of environmental groups, saying that the Gulf disaster exposed the risks involved in offshore drilling. Therefore, caution is prudent.But oil companies like Chevron Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell PLC say they are losing enormous amounts of money waiting for approval to drill. Billions of dollars are at stake, tied up in Gulf projects which are indefinitely on hold. Workers are still being paid and other expenses connected to these projects cannot be put on hold. More modest sized companies are even harder hit by the delay due to their inability to work on other projects while waiting.
