Shell laments lost time in Gulf of Mexico

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday warned that the fallout from the moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of BP’s oil spill during the summer could last until next year.

Shell is one of the largest producers in the Gulf and Simon Henry, chief financial officer, said that the company would be taking a charge of $59m (£37m) against its third-quarter results as a result of the moratorium.

The US Interior Department earlier this month issued new safety regulations and lifted the drilling ban, but Mr Henry said that cancelled drilling plans and expected delays in receiving new permits were likely to reduce the company’s output by 40,000 barrels per day next year.

Mr Henry said that Shell has rigs and equipment that it believes meet the new regulatory requirements and has submitted new permits to drill to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read More: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7602e68-e2bf-11df-8a58-00144feabdc0.html