Negative economic effect of the 6-month moratorium will extend well beyond the 6-months
Jindal asks the Obama administration to reconsider the 6-month moratorium. This will have severe economic effects on Louisiana, on top of the effects of the actual spill. The 6-month moratorium will have severe negative effects that go well beyond the 6-months - the text quoted below includes an estimate from the La. Dept of Economic Development as to the job loss now and estimated for the next 18 months!
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development estimates that the active drilling suspension alone will result in a loss of 3,000 to 6,000 Louisiana jobs in the next 2-3 weeks and potentially over 10,000 Louisiana jobs within a few months. If the suspension of active drilling activity continues for an extended period, LED estimates that our state risks losing more than 20,000 existing and potential new Louisiana jobs in the next 12-18 months.
Obviously these losses would come on top of those already generated by the spill and its related effects. Moreover, the announced moratorium of deepwater drilling activity creates a significant risk that many of these drilling platforms would be relocated to other countries — along with the hundreds of high paying jobs that they each create.