Ban on oil and gas drilling near interstates extended

(AP) – A ban on oil and gas drilling near interstate highways in Louisiana will continue for another month, Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh decided Thursday.

The drilling restriction within a quarter mile of an interstate was prompted by a November gas well blowout that shut down a 55 mile-stretch of Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge during the busy holiday traffic season.

Welsh extended the drilling ban, which was set to expire at the end of May, for 30 more days while a committee appointed by Welsh to review drilling safety standards continues its study.

He said the group soon will make its recommendations on what restrictions should be made to reduce chances of well blowouts.

The blowout near I-10 happened Nov. 15, when workers for Bridas Energy USA Inc. of The Woodlands, Texas, were drilling for a new well, and the pressure blew the line, which later erupted into flames. The well was 277 feet from the roadway near the Iberville Parish town of Ramah. The Louisiana State Police shut down the interstate because of safety concerns.

Workers took weeks to extinguish the fire and recap the well, forcing thousands of drivers to travel on alternate routes and cutting into the income of dozens of businesses that depend on travelers.

A bill that would have made Welsh’s drilling ban permanent in state law was rejected by a Senate committee earlier this year, in the face of opposition from the petroleum industry, which argued the ban was too restrictive.