The nation's top drilling regulator on Tuesday raised the possibility that the Obama administration could lift its deep-water exploration ban before it expires in November -- if the industry boosts its ability to clean up and contain oil spills. 'I think it's everybody's hope that we will feel comfortable enough that the moratorium can be lifted significantly in advance of Nov. 30,' said Michael Bromwich, the newly tapped director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement -- formerly the Minerals Management Service. Bromwich is embarking Wednesday on an eight-city listening tour with public meetings designed to shed light on drilling and workplace safety, spill containment and disaster response technology. Bromwich told reporters the fact-finding is meant to determine 'whether we have a level of comfort on all three issues that would enable (the government) to end the moratorium earlier.' The bureau's Wednesday meeting in New Orleans will focus on the oil and gas industry's ability to contain oil spills, including a just-announced collaboration by four major oil companies to develop a quick-response system for stopping spills. Other offshore drilling forums are planned this month in Mobile, Ala.,; Pensacola, Fla.,; Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Anchorage, Alaska. In September, the bureau is expected to hold meetings in Houston, Biloxi, Miss., and Lafayette, La. The Obama administration imposed its drilling ban on July 12 in response to the April 20 blowout of BP's Macondo well, which triggered a lethal explosion and an oil spill that dumped an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico before it was capped last month. The moratorium blocks exploration from all floating rigs and any facilities that use underwater blowout preventers as a last defense against unexpected surges of oil and gas. Oil industry leaders and Gulf Coast officials say the ban threatens to devastate the region's economy by jeopardizing the jobs of about 1,400 rig workers and the long-term survival of countless onshore suppliers. Those concerns prompted the House of Representatives last week to pass a measure that would lift the moratorium for drilling rigs that satisfy newly imposed safety and environmental standards. But Bromwich said he opposes such a rig-based determination, which would rely on subjective judgments by different government inspectors. Instead, Bromwich said, he feels more comfortable with a ban that distinguishes between 'different categories of drilling and different categories of equipment.' Bromwich said the economic effects of the drilling ban are a part of his calculus on the moratorium. 'There are a lot of people hurting out there,' Bromwich said. 'I certainly don't think we can afford to ignore that. These decisions aren't being made in a vacuum. 'On the other hand, our focus has to be on trying to ensure the greatest possible enhancements in safety, spill containment and spill response.' Bromwich said the oil and gas industry has already made advancements in some of those areas, including the availability of equipment to clean up spilled crude. Some skimmers and other spill-response equipment have been freed since BP's Macondo well was capped last month. Bromwich said he recognizes that it would be an 'impossible standard' to expect the industry to whittle the risks of another explosion to zero. But, he said, 'there's clearly room for improvement.' Bromwich said: 'There's no doubt in my mind that a number of significant steps have already been taken, but there are a lot more steps that can be takenthat will further drive down the risk that an accident like this will ever happen again.' Although shallow-water drilling is generally not blocked by the ban, the administration has approved just two new wells in less than 500 feet of water since imposing new environmental and safety requirements. Another six applications are still pending review. That has given fodder to industry leaders' accusations that the administration is stalling new shallow-water drilling. 'Despite all the bluster and rhetoric from the administration, we haven't seen any progress on the issuance of permits,' said Jim Noe, a vice president with Houston-based Hercules Offshore. 'Only two new shallow-water wells have been allowed to proceed since the spill.' But Bromwich insisted that the ocean energy bureau was working with oil companies and rig owners to resolve the hang-ups. 'We have a shared interest in trying to approve these permits -- assuming they satisfy all of the requirements -- as promptly as we reasonably can,' Bromwich said. 'I've heard no one in this department whisper or say that we should slow-walk these or not approve these. Quite to the contrary, people are very concerned about the misperception that exists out there that there is a de facto moratorium on shallow-water (drilling).' A former federal prosecutor, Bromwich became the nation's top drilling regulator in June, just weeks after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar began reconstructing the Minerals Management Service. The overhaul was spurred by lax regulation of offshore drilling revealed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster and allegations that some of the MMS' 1,700 employees have had a too-cozy relationship with the oil and gas industry. (Jennifer A. Dlouhy can be reached at 202-263-6400 or at the e-mail address jdlouhy(a)hearstdc.com) 