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By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama afore~ on Saturday that offshore oil drilling could only go forward whether or not there were assurances that a disaster like the massive Gulf of Mexico oil pour out would not happen again.

As Obama officially unveiled a commission to overhaul the accident, he issued a stern message that while keeping calamity on firms involved in the still-uncapped spill — BP

, Halliburton and Transocean Ltd — he would likewise hold Washington accountable for mending its ways.

In his executive precept announcing former Democratic Senator Bob Graham and and former Environmental Protection Agency vital William Reilly would co-chair the panel, Obama also made his in the ~ place reference to the possibility of a separate criminal probe into calamity.

‘The commission shall ensure that it does not interfere with or disrupt somewhat ongoing or anticipated civil or criminal investigation or law enforcement activities or a single one effort to recover response costs or damages arising out of the Deepwater Horizon blast, fire and oil spill,’ the order stated.

Attorney General Eric Holder said on May 3 that the Justice Department was part of the scrutiny into the spill, though a U.S. official at the time before-mentioned it was not a criminal inquiry.

With frustration growing and political risks looming over the spill, Obama gave the new bipartisan panel six months to report its findings and recommendations for the yet to be of offshore drilling.

‘The purpose of this commission is to contemplate both the root causes of the disaster and offer options steady what safety and environmental precautions we need to take to stop a similar disaster from happening again,’ Obama said in his hebdomadary radio and Internet address.

Obama has steadily sharpened his tone in addition the past week as the oil leak — which threatens to hide from view the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska as the worst U.S. ecological stroke — has spread with little sign it will be halted soon.

Analysts tell as ecological and economic damage mounts, it could become more of a national liability for Obama ahead of pivotal congressional elections in November at the time that his Democrats already face the threat of big losses because of voter solicitude over nearly double-digit unemployment.

Creating a commission helps Obama manifest leadership in a crisis that has drawn heavy criticism not alone of companies’ safety practices but also loose government oversight.

The spill has raised major questions about Obama’s earlier proposal to enlarge offshore drilling as part of strategy to win Republican support in the place of climate change legislation.

DEMANDS ASSURANCES

Obama said since the spill he had ordered inspections of all deepwater operations in the Gulf and barred permits for drilling novel wells until a 30-day review is complete.

‘We must … conduct domestic sources of oil and gas,’ Obama said. ‘Because it represents 30 percent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in securing our mechanical value future. But we can only pursue offshore oil drilling if we be seized of assurances that a disaster like the BP oil spill will not chance again.’

He expressed hope the new commission would ‘help provide those assurances such we can continue to seek a secure energy future.’ The seven-head panel is patterned after those that probed incidents such as the 1986 pop of the space shuttle Challenger.

Obama had more tough words concerning the companies involved in the spill. ‘First and foremost, what led to this misadventure was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perchance others, including Transocean and Halliburton,’ he said.

‘And we will persevere to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and open about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it into disrepute, repairing the damage it does, and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a pecuniary loss,’ he said.

But he also put the onus on restraint. ‘Even as we continue to hold BP accountable, we also emergency to hold Washington accountable,’ he said. ‘The question is what lessons we can learn from this disaster to make sure it never happens afresh.’

‘If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent like an oil spill, or if we didn’t enforce those laws, I have need of to know it,’ he said. ‘I want to know … where control of the oil and gas industry broke down. We know, instead of example, that a cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that manage them has long been a source of concern.’

(Editing by Eric Walsh) Keywords: OIL RIG/LEAK OBAMA

(matt.spetalnick@reuters.com; +1 202 898 8300; Reuters Messaging: matt.spetalnick.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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