Undeterred by Gulf accident, McDonnell to speak at off-shore drilling conference

While some Virginia leaders are urging the federal government to slow down or even reconsider drilling offshore after a fatal accident off the Gulf coast, Gov. Bob McDonnell will fly to Houston Monday to speak at a conference promoting offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

McDonnell will speak about "Jobs and the Economy: How the Energy Industry is Creating Jobs, Leading the Economy and Impacting Consumers" at the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference

The conference is sponsored by a variety of associations, including those that represent petroleum companies.

McDonnell strongly supports drilling off Virginia's coast. Thursday, he said the oil well accident off Louisiana's coast was a "setback' but it will not deter him from trying to make Virginia the first state on the East Coast to begin drilling for oil and natural gas.

The White House vowed Friday that no expansion of offshore oil drilling will take place until federal investigations are completed into the accident, which is sending tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil lapping toward Louisiana's shores.