U.S. Ambassador says no plans to drill at Georges Bank

by The Associated Press

U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci said June 12 that he knew of no plans to drill for oil and gas in the rich fishing grounds of Georges Bank off New England and Canada.

Concerns have increased that President Bush might lift a moratorium on drilling in the 180-mile bank that stretches across the Gulf of Maine from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia under his energy policy that calls for increased production.

A U.S. Interior Department committee recently recommended exploring coastal waters for natural gas.

Cellucci, the former governor of Massachusetts who became ambassador to Canada in April, said he believed Georges Bank would remain off limits to energy exploration.

“Massachusetts has a long-standing policy of opposing that,” Cellucci said. “I don’t see any reason to change that policy. I don’t think that’s part of (the) plan, not Georges Bank.”

Bush has received recent letters from members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives opposing any drilling for oil or other energy sources in Georges Bank, described as one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

Cellucci noted that increasing energy production was one part of an energy strategy devised by a panel led by Vice President Dick Cheney.

“It’s obviously the one that has gotten the most attention,” he said. “But 40 percent of the recommendations in his plan relate to conservation and environmental protection.”