Oil lobby money unlikely to quell storm over BP

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - Big Oil's ability to spend huge sums of money lobbying Congress may not deflect the election-year spotlight on oil interests on Capitol Hill after BP Plc's <BP.L> catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Before the Deep Horizon rig exploded and sank off the Louisiana coast, oil companies were already paying lobbyists millions to protect their interests in climate-change talks and backing that up with campaign donations to key members of the Senate and House of Representatives, disclosure filings show.

With a giant oil spill now threatening the U.S. Gulf Coast and possibly endangering the faraway shores of the Atlantic, some analysts say the industry's hopes of new U.S. offshore drilling leases could be set back five years.

"It is a perfect storm," said Ken Green of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank. "Lobbying won't do much good because no politician is going to stand up and say: 'This is O.K.' It's a huge black eye for oil companies."

At least three committees in Congress plan to investigate the disaster. BP could be in for billions of dollars in clean-up costs and analysts say the industry may face new government demands for costly safety standard upgrades and tax and royalty concessions.

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otherwise, most reform will be half assed. There is too much money been spent on the status quo or to water down the status quo. And it is only going to get harder after the November elections.

But it is never wise to underestimate the audacity of the Drill Baby Drill crowd, or their greed.