Salazar halts offshore drilling permits, slows Shell’s Alaska project

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that no new offshore drilling permits will be issued while Interior conducts a safety review the White House ordered in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Salazar’s announcement followed a Houston meeting with officials from BP to discuss their efforts to halt and contain the spill. The oil giant leased the Deepwater Horizon rig that blew up April 20, creating the ongoing spill from a damaged undersea well.

President Barack Obama in late April ordered a 30-day review of “additional precautions and technologies” that may be needed for offshore development. Interior intends to submit the report by May 28.

Interior’s action could slow Shell Oil’s efforts to drill exploratory wells in Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast.

The head of Interior’s Minerals Management Service informed Shell Thursday that the agency “will not make a final decision on the requested permits for the drilling of exploration wells in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas until the Department of the Interior’s report to the President has been submitted and evaluated,” Interior said.

Interior has also suspended its planning for a lease sale off the Virginia coast, a move that underscores new uncertainties about expanded drilling.