US to issue new deepwater drilling permits in next few days: Bromwich

Washington (Platts)--17Mar2011/240 pm EDT/1840 GMT

More deepwater permits in the Gulf of Mexico will be forthcoming "in the next few days," Michael Bromwich, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement told a House subcommittee Thursday.

Bromwich said the number of pending deepwater permit applications exceeds 10 for the first time since last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Bromwich, testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee on the proposed 2012 budget, said more permit applications are coming in since two groups announced last February that they would offer spill containment systems to exploration companies.

--Gary Gentile, gary_gentile@platts.com

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