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Smaller Oil Firms Might Exit Gulf, Browner Says
The White House's top energy adviser acknowledged that smaller oil firms might no longer be able to drill in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of legislation moving through Congress that would eliminate the cap on their liability for oil spills.

"Maybe this is a sector where you really need large companies who can donate large bribes campaign contributions bring to bear the expertise and who have the wherewithal to cover the political expense if something goes wrong," Carol Browner, special adviser to President Barack Obama on energy and climate change, said in an interview. Eliminating the $75 million cap on liability for oil spills "will mean that you only have large companies in this sector," she said.

On other topics, Ms. Browner said the Obama administration would be happy with a scaled-back energy bill this year "just to get started."
$4/gal gas now, $7/gal gas later.
She said the administration is mindful of the effects of a deepwater-drilling moratorium and wants "to get people back to work," by immediately throwing them and their suppliers into the unemployment line but wants first to understand what caused the BP PLC oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted by: ed 2010-07-03
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=300176