Although the outlook for ultra-deepwater drilling demand remains strong, Transocean could see increasing competition going forward due to the addition of new ultra-deepwater drilling capacity in the industry.

FORBES: Transocean Jacks Up Its Outlook On Deepwater Boon

What this all means is that there is an incredible amount of excess drilling capacity in the system, waiting to come on line should the natural gas price firm up for any prolonged period of time.

FORBES: The Texas Shale Oil & Gas Revolution - Leading the Way to Enhanced Energy Security

And what happened after this historically serious oil spill was that the administration -- this administration insisted that before we grant permits for more deepwater drilling that industry demonstrate its capacity to contain a spill like the one we saw in the Gulf.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

Already there are calls for policy changes to fix the flaws in America's energy infrastructure exposed by Katrina: its tight refining capacity, its dependence on offshore drilling in the hurricane-prone Gulf, its love affair with big, inefficient cars.

ECONOMIST: Oil and troubled waters | The

And that is why those companies that have sought leases for deepwater drilling have had to prove that they have that capacity.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

What I can tell you is that, as I said earlier, that the administration is committed and focused on making sure that, as it has in recent weeks begun issuing permits, new permits for deepwater drilling, that it only does so when an industry demonstrates the capacity to deal with these kinds of spills, so that what happened in the Gulf last year does not happen again.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

Shell told MPs that in Alaska available mechanical recovery assets had "a combined capacity that exceeds the worst-case discharge potential of the well we are drilling".

BBC: MPs' call to halt Arctic drilling amid safety concerns

The train wreck illustrates one economic reality of the U.S. shale drilling boom, which is that energy companies have turned to shipping by rail as pipeline capacity has been filled.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: A Tale of Two Oil Spills