Chutzpah Or Hubris: Obama Admin Issues Deepwater Permit With BP Majority Owner

David Dayen of FDL outlines the astonishingly stupid behavior:

The Obama Administration approved the first deepwater drilling well permit for the Gulf of Mexico, 11 months after the BP oil disaster.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement announced Monday that it issued a permit to Noble Energy Inc. to continue work on its Santiago well about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La. Drilling will resume nearly one year after BP’s blowout created the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.

Noble started drilling the well four days before the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20. The project was put on hold on June 12 after the U.S. placed a moratorium on exploration in waters deeper than 500 feet.

“Noble Energy,” as it turns out, is not accurate. In fact, BP holds the largest stake in the well approved today.

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Jeebus on a crutch! Did our government learn absolutely nothing from Deepwater Horizon? Or is Obama willing to sell out the whole Gulf of Mexico, drilling and spilling until nothing lives there and no food can be fished there, for a large campaign contribution for 2012?