The International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) has welcomed the US government’s new Marine Mammal Protection Act framework for geological and geophysical activities in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) has welcomed the US government’s new Marine Mammal Protection Act framework for geological and geophysical activities in the US Gulf of Mexico. However, it also criticized the framework as ‘rigorous and, in some instances, overly burdensome requirements for G&G activities’.
‘The new regulations are also premised on assumed impacts that drastically overestimate the actual impacts of the G&G industry, which have been carried out for more than 50 years in the Gulf of Mexico without noticeable impacts on marine mammals, other marine life, or fisheries,’ said the IAGC in a statement.
‘Nonetheless, the IAGC is hopeful that this decision will result in a more predictable regulatory environment for G&G activities, which are essential to well-planned and environmentally responsible oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico,’ it added.
