Recently published reports revealed that U.S. government officials estimated that the moratorium could cost around 23,000 U.S. jobs. Most jobs in the oil and gas industry provide salaries far above average, so the loss of these jobs has a multiplier effect on the economy as a whole, not just in the Gulf coast region, but nationwide.

If the moratorium results in a large drop in Gulf oil production, that could also hurt the economy, since the Gulf provides about a third of U.S. domestic petroleum production.

But Smith says the world may also feel the impact if Gulf oil output falls much below the current 1.7 million barrels a day.

"The whole world only has about five million-barrels-a-day of spare capacity and consumption is about 87 million barrels, so when we take away that Gulf of Mexico production, you are talking double digit percentages of the world's capacity that gets chewed up," he said.

President Obama says the moratorium could end sooner than the November 30 date established by the Interior Department if a commission studying the disaster finishes its work sooner.

The president argues that, regardless of the moratorium's short-term economic impact, the action is necessary to protect the Gulf's natural treasures from potential future accidents.