Statoil (STO) 6th to Receive Gulf Drilling Permit Since BP (BP) Spill

Under enormous pressure because of dragging its feet for months on getting drilling in the Gulf of Mexico going again, the Obama administration is starting to finally award permits, with the latest being to Statoil (NYSE:STO), the sixth new Gulf drilling permit handed out since the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, according to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy.

Statoil's permit authorizes a new well to be drilled in Alaminos Canyon Block 810 in water 7,134 feet deep, about 216 miles off the Texas coast south of Texas City.

BOEM Director Michael Bromwich said, "This permit is the sixth we have approved since Feb. 17, when industry demonstrated it had the capacity to handle subsea blowouts and spills."

"Some say we are now proceeding too quickly; some say we are still proceeding too slowly. The truth is we are proceeding as quickly as our resources allow to approve permit applications that satisfy our rigorous safety and environmental standards."

In other words, the crisis in the Middle East underscores the need to drill for oil, and that more than anything else, is the reason the government is finally moving.

The rising price of oil and gasoline is the motivator behind all this, and it's more obvious that's the case because of the sudden drilling religion the Obama administration got.

If they had done the right thing and got the permitting process going quicker, the administration wouldn't be criticized for how allegedly "quickly" they're now issuing permits.

Statoil closed in New York Friday at $27.57, down $0.39, or 1.39 percent.