By now there’s little debate that the technology used to obtain oil in deeper waters was developed and rapidly put into use before safety technology could keep up [1]. As we’ve noted, that’s a development that regulators allowed, despite their concerns.
But the expansion of deep-water drilling wasn’t solely a result of industry’s rushing into deeper waters and toward greater profit. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was also encouraged by the federal government, which gave oil companies tens of billions [2] in tax breaks, subsidies and royalty relief. Many of these incentives have outlasted their initial purpose, according to the Times [3]:
The royalty waiver program was established by Congress in 1995, when oil was selling for about $18 a barrel and drilling in deep water was seen as unprofitable without a subsidy. Today, oil sells for about $70 a barrel, but the subsidy continues.
... Congress had originally intended to provide royalty relief only when oil prices were especially low. But an Interior Department error in the drafting of contracts in the 1990s led the industry to argue against pegging the relief to oil prices.
No, it's YOU who is missing the point. The article points to a specific set of allegations and accusations made by a specific group....in this case the neocon punditry and it's political mouthpieces. The article goes on to factually disprove their rhetoric.
