Mr. Molchanov: Ironically, it was only about a week ago that the Obama administration announced new rules that would open up more offshore acreage to drilling. So from a political standpoint, this type of incident will obviously not help perception of offshore oil and gas. But we need to put such once-in-a-decade events in perspective. The fact of the matter is that Gulf of Mexico drilling has gotten a great deal safer over the past several decades, thanks to better technology and more effective safety practices. I think it's too early to judge whether this disaster will make it significantly tougher to drill, but it certainly doesn't help perceptions of the industry.
TWST: Is it likely to raise costs, with more regulation and greater scrutiny?
Mr. Molchanov: I just think it's too early to judge. Offshore drilling is already regulated quite heavily from Washington. As a knee-jerk reaction, regulators may well try to impose greater scrutiny. But again, when we look at the industry's track record, severe oil spills like this are exceedingly rare. Of course, it's always unfortunate when it happens, but thankfully it's not common at all.
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