It is also storing up problems for the future of oil and gas exploration, and ultimately production, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kevin Jarman, Chief Executive of MatthewsDaniel, said his firm had received a number of enquires for the risk assessment of rigs moving out of the gulf either to be put into service in other regions, such as South America of Asia, or to be mothballed as the US moratorium continues.

“There is no definitive information at present as to how long the moratorium will last,” he explained.  “We are seeing the departure of many assets from deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico as they can be actively employed elsewhere or they are being moved to areas were they can be ‘stacked’ until such time as the moratorium has ended.”

He added that the movement of such assets was not without risk and his firm were working with a number of clients to conduct risk assessments prior to the rig movements.

He added: “The departure of equipment has been such that when the moratorium is lifted it will take a considerable period of time for the assets to be put back in place to restore exploration and development activities to the levels seen prior to the moratorium coming into effect.”

The moratorium has also led to the potential for a raft of disputes as the rig owners and the energy companies which had hired the rigs dispute the contracts under which they were commissioned.

There have been growing numbers of reports that energy firms are seeking to cancel contracts describing the moratorium as a Force Majeure event, and as such, a reason to terminate the contracts.

Rig owners are naturally disputing such claims and there is already talk of legal disputes between a number of players.