Regulators step up pressure on offshore drilling contractors

Houston Chronicle: WASHINGTON - Federal regulators have issued a batch of safety violation notices to offshore drilling contractors, exercising an aggressive new interpretation of the Interior Department's powers for the first time since the 2010 Gulf oil spill.

The "incidents of noncompliance" sent to Ensco Drilling, Nabors Offshore Corp. and three other contractors in recent weeks mark the start of a process that can lead to civil penalties of $40,000 per incident per day.

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