The US should opt for a case-by-case review of drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico and avoid a blanket ban on deepwater drilling, claims Robert Bea, a professor at the University of Berkeley who specialises in disaster response management.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the professor, who has studied responses to the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster and Hurricane Katrina, explained that each drilling operation should be scrutinised closely in regards to safety and training, but rejected calls for a moratorium on all drilling.

"I don't choose to send an entire class to detention' because of a few underperforming students," he commented.

Rather, he said that regulators should force rig operators to adhere to strict and regular training programmes, while also ensuring that equipment checks and maintenance is carried out on a continual basis.

He said that oil and gas training programmes should be carried out by all rig workers, "including contractor and owner management personnel assigned to each rig".

His comments come in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill which began on April 20th. The extent of the spill, the largest in US history, has raised questions about whether deepwater drilling in the region should continue.

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