TOO SOON?

BP to Resume Deepwater Drilling

White House pressured to reduce reliance on foreign oil.

BP has made a deal with U.S. regulators to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico as early as July, less than 15 months after the disastrous explosion that killed 11 workers and leaked 200 million gallons of oil. BP would resume drilling but would not be able to tap exploratory wells. Leading environmental organization Greenpeace said the announcement was "a poke in the eye not only to the environment but to investors." The report comes amid continuing pressure on the Obama administration to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, the price of which is climbing due to demand in China and political unrest in many of the Middle East's oil-rich countries. Meanwhile, the Deepwater Horizon's Transocean executives got bonuses yesterday.