By Neela Banerjee
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – The presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill called on Congress, the Obama administration and the oil and gas sector Tuesday to make sweeping changes based on practices in other industries and petroleum-producing countries to avert a repeat of the deadly Deepwater Horizon offshore disaster.
The scope of the panel’s recommendations stems in part from a conclusion it voiced earlier that “systemic failure” and a “culture of complacency” among the oil industry and government regulators contributed heavily to the April 20 blowout of the Macondo well – not just the actions of BP, Transocean and Halliburton, the three major companies working on the rig.
But the prospects for fundamental change are murky. The recommendations, several of which require congressional approval, come as anti-regulatory fervor is gripping Congress, particularly the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Industry groups want lawmakers to roll back many environmental and safety regulations. Oil industry advocates and their legislative allies have focused on speeding up the permitting of new deepwater wells, a priority that could conflict with increased regulation and oversight.