Oil drilling ban

Experts studying oil industry practices concluded that the ban on deepwater drilling may not be needed any longer.

The industry and government have developed safer drilling practices in the wake of the oil spill, said the Bipartisan Policy Center. The group is reporting to the presidential commission examining the Gulf of Mexico incident.

The report issued Thursday affirmed that the accident on the Deepwater Horizon rig demonstrated that the government and the industry were not ready for a large oil spill.

But the moratorium on deepwater drilling helped the industry and government develop safer procedures, the report stated. Among the improvements: safer blowout preventers and better control over deepwater wells.

"If industry is diligent in incorporating these requirements and DOI is vigilant in oversight and enforcement, we believe this new regime will provide an adequate margin of safety to responsibly allow the resumption of deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico," the report said.

Jason Grumet of the policy center told the Associated Press that the moratorium should be lifted soon. The report said that federal oversight of drilling has improved.

Michael Bromwich of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said he is working to ensure that the drilling can resume safely.

The moratorium was set to expire Nov. 30. That it will end earlier is good news for people whose jobs are on hold. The drilling needs to resume.