BP are hoping that the ban on drilling will be lifted soon, after discovering what appears to be a major oilfield, a hundred miles offshore from Long Beach, California.
BP - widely criticised for its handling of the spill in the Gulf Of Mexico - say that the California discovery is in deeper water than the Gulf oilfield, but that they have the technology in place to handle deep water drilling.
Governor Schwarzenegger fully supported BP's stance that offshore drilling would boost the ailing California economy, providing employment for thousands, and prompting a boom in subsidiary industries.
There is opposition though, principally from blinkered environmentalists, who fear that a spill similar to that in the Gulf would decimate the California coastline, but the Governor's attitude appears to be: "Drill and be damned!"
Environmentalists in New York City are keeping a close eye on developments following a similar discovery by BP in New York Harbour, thought to be at the midpoint between Liberty and Ellis Islands.
More as we get it.
