That the Macondo tragedy of last April would inaugurate a new era of offshore regulation was inevitable. The main questions were how tough regulation would become and how much the change would affect work. And, oh yes, how greatly the toughening would improve offshore safety. As a formal deepwater drilling moratorium ends in the Gulf of Mexico, answers to these questions are coming into view, with relevance far beyond waters off Texas and Louisiana.To say no regulatory response is in order would be indefensible. A deepwater blowout, once unthinkable in the oil and gas industry, happened. Eleven workers died. Oil and gas streamed into the gulf from a broken well through most of a summer. O...