US To Issue First New Drilling Rules Since BP Oil Spill

The U.S. Interior Department is close to releasing its first new offshore-drilling rules since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, revealing just how strictly it will regulate the oil and gas industry in the wake of the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. The new rules, which the Interior Department will release in the next two weeks, will apply to both shallow-water and deep-water drillers–encompassing dozens, if not hundreds, of companies that help produce a significant portion of U.S. energy resources.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore energy producer, fell in Hong Kong trading as a growing territorial dispute between China and Japan in the East China Sea threatens to disrupt oil and gas development in the area. The shares dropped 0.4 percent to close at HK$14.66, compared with the less than 0.1 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng index.

Centrica Plc, Britain’s biggest energy supplier, agreed to buy Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s 9.44 percent stake in the Statfjord oil and gas field in Norway. Centrica will pay 1.37 billion kroner ($230 million) for the stake, it said in a statement in London today.

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