The federal government Wednesday gave BP approval to launch its first deep-water drilling since the lethal blowout of its Macondo well a year and a half ago. Under the permit issued by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the British oil giant can begin drilling immediately at its Kaskida field about 192 miles off the Louisiana coast.
BP plans to drill the newly approved well in more than 6,000 feet of water — about 1,000 feet more than the doomed Macondo project.