Obama says Gulf Coast oil spill is a `` potentially unprecedented environmental disaster '' In late March , Obama announced plans to expand offshore drilling . Administration officials insist priority is to get to the bottom of the current spill . White House press secretary Robert Gibbs indicated last week that Obama 's offshore plans are n't set in stone . The White House has said it will take several months for an independent review by federal scientists and engineers to determine what caused the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010.
Obama says Gulf Coast oil spill is a `` potentially unprecedented environmental disaster '' In late March , Obama announced plans to expand offshore drilling . Administration officials insist priority is to get to the bottom of the current spill . The White House has said it will take several months for an independent review by federal scientists and engineers to determine what caused the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010.