At some point the Obama administration has to pretend that it hasn’t noticed that virtually EVERYONE thinks that the drilling moratorium should be ended.
Add the entire State of Texas to the list.
The state of Texas filed suit Wednesday challenging the federal ban on offshore drilling, saying it violates a law requiring officials to consult with the states on such matters first.
In the lawsuit filed in Houston federal court Wednesday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson allege the administration didn't heed the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which requires the federal government to coordinate with states that might be affected by a drilling moratorium and weigh its economic impact.
The statement from the state attorney of Texas "The federal government ignored the state of Texas and failed to comply with the law when the secretary of the Interior unilaterally imposed the administration's offshore drilling ban,"
She also said the industry's ability to respond to new oil spills was hindered because virtually all available spill response assets were busy with the BP spill.
Of course there are some other interesting people suggesting that the moratorium should be ended:
1) The experts that the Obama administration consulted when looking into the spill. They did not support the moratorium even though the Obama administration used their names when justifying it.
http://www.nationalreview.com/planet-gore/204021/about-sec-salazars-claim-expert-support-his-drilling-moratorium/greg-pollowitz
2) The co-chairman of the presidential oil spill commission who Obama appointed.
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/07/opponents_of_deepwater_drillin.html
3) 73% of Americans opposed the drilling ban even before the Macondo leak was plugged.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-14/americans-in-73-majority-oppose-ban-on-deepwater-drilling-after-oil-spill.html
Look, there is no support for this moratorium. It is costing people jobs and is going to end up costing the United States access to drilling rigs that are going to leave and not come back for years. There is no doubt the moratorium is going to end and it seems highly unlikely that it won’t end early.
Opportunities to Profit from the end of the Moratorium
I’ve been looking at a lot of stocks that have been hammered after the BP spill. Most of them have gained back little of what they lost. I believe that public equities tied to the Gulf of Mexico are going to perform very strongly in the coming year as they return to pre-spill prices. The end of the moratorium could be a giant catalysts.
Here are some ideas:
ATP Oil and Gas – no company will benefit more from a resumption of drilling
http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=101862
Diamond Offshore and Ensco – World class companies
http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=101737
Cobalt International
http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=101391
And if you are investing in these companies make sure you understand the impact of proposed Government legislation:
http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=101468 http://www.gurufocus.com/news.php?id=100057
