Express response

Martin I McGregor of Invercargill says I'm wrong and he's probably right.

Oil spill response

ROBERT Guyton's claim (Southland Express, July 8) that the USA has the world's toughest safety requirements around off-shore drilling for oil is wrong.
The Macondo Prospect well was in the process of being capped for future activation when the accident happened. The capping was being done by an American company (not BP) using American personel, expertise and technology, and in compliance with American regulations.
These are the uncomfortable facts that the US government is attempting to dodge by trying to deflect all the blame onto BP.
The accident is very unlikely to have happened if work had been carried out in accordance with European Union requirements [abridged]

Either way - deep sea drilling for oil is a dodgy, risky business and those most at risk are those living along the shores. In the case of the proposed Southern Basin wells, that'll be us!
No thanks.