Browner, Gibbs say drilling ban could end early with safety assurances

“So we’re going to look at all those things, and if it’s appropriate to end it early, then we will do so. But not until we have answers to these very important questions,” Browner said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at a briefing that officials need a full understanding of what caused BP’s catastrophic blowout and the ability to prevent future accidents at deepwater wells. Gibbs also said it’s important to ensure “these companies have a containment plan that’s commensurate with the type of activity they’re undertaking.”

“So, once all three of those can be met, the president will lift that moratorium. And if those conditions can be met before the end of November, we’d certainly happily do that,” he told reporters.

Critics of the drilling freeze say it is needlessly broad and creating major hardship in the Gulf Coast, where the economy is tethered to the oil industry. But the ban’s defenders say it’s vital to making sure that risky operations do not proceed.

The comments by Browner and Gibbs mark the second time in two days that high-level administration officials have floated the possibility of lifting the ban.

Michael Bromwich, who heads the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, told reporters Tuesday that the ban could end before late November.

Bromwich began a series of “fact-finding” meetings Wednesday with academic experts, environmentalists and industry officials on drilling safety and related matters.