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Obama to Suspend Deepwater Oil Drilling

   VOA News 27 May 2010
   President  Barack  Obama  walks  on  the South Lawn of the White House
   following a trip to California, 26 May 2010

Photo: AP

   President  Barack  Obama  walks  on  the South Lawn of the White House
   following a trip to California, 26 May 2010

   [1]Listen to President Obama's Press Conference LIVE on VOANews.com at
   12:45 p.m. EDT 1645 UTC

   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama  is expected to announce Thursday he is
   extending  a ban on new deepwater oil drilling projects because of the
   disastrous oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
   The  six-month  extension  follows  a  safety review Mr. Obama ordered
   after  an oil rig exploded in the Gulf on April 20, killing 11 workers
   and rupturing an undersea well.
   The  move  will  also suspend applications for Arctic oil drilling off
   the coast of Alaska.
   Also Thursday, U.S. government scientists announced new estimates that
   the  well  has  been  leaking between 12,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil
   into  the  Gulf  every  day.  The figures are much higher than initial
   estimates of 5,000 barrels per day.
   Energy  company  BP  is  currently  trying  to  stop  the  well with a
   procedure  called  a  "top  kill."Â   It involves pumping a mixture of
   heavy  fluids  into  the well to combat the leak, then using cement to
   seal it off.
   The "top kill" procedure is difficult because of the depth of the well
   -- 1,500 meters below the surface.
   Frustration  with  BP  and  the government's response has risen as oil
   washes  up  on  southern  coastlines,  endangering  wildlife  and  the
   commercial fishing industry.
   U.S.  officials  have  closed 20 percent of federal fishing grounds in
   the  Gulf of Mexico as a result of the spill.  Fishermen in the state
   of  Louisiana  are  pressing  BP  to compensate them for the losses to
   their businesses.

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   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Environmental Impact

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References

   1. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/special-reports/Gulf-of-Mexico-Oil-Spill--95017899.html

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