Obama suspending 33 active Gulf of Mexico drilling projects

The Obama administration is suspending 33 active deepwater oil-and-gas drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico in addition to extending a freeze on permits for new drilling projects.

President Barack Obama announced the suspension at a White House press conference Thursday about offshore drilling oversight and the administration’s response to the BP oil spill.

The announcement about the 33 projects reveals that White House action to slow new offshore development is somewhat broader than administration officials indicated earlier Thursday.

Administration officials said Thursday morning that the White House is halting new deepwater permits for another six months, delaying Shell Oil’s planned project off Alaska’s coast and canceling planned lease sales in the western Gulf of Mexico and off Virginia’s coast.

Obama reiterated those plans at the press conference Thursday. The administration is freezing the new development to provide time to review offshore safety upgrades needed in the wake of the spill.

Obama — who will travel to the Gulf Coast Friday — repeatedly vowed tougher oversight of oil companies and highlighted administration efforts to end what he said has been a cozy relationship between the industry and regulators.

Update: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the announcement refers to drilling projects that were previously approved at 33 deepwater rigs, some of which are already underway. For the drilling in progress, the companies must reach a "safe horizon" in the subsea geology and then secure the well, Salazar told reporters on a conference call.

He emphasized that the ongoing freeze on deepwater exploration does not affect current oil-and-gas production.

This post was updated at 3:53 p.m. on May 27.