() Houston – A New Orleans federal judge on Tuesday lifted the ban on U.S. deepwater drilling, clearing the way for oil companies to return to platforms staged in the Gulf of Mexico and continue pumping oil.
The ban had been imposed by the Obama administration following the collapse of the BP oil platform which has leaked millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the Louisiana coastline to Texas and Florida.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal had asked Judge Feldman June 20th to lift the ban after imposing more stringent safety and oversight procedures based upon the results of several ongoing drilling safety studies, including that of the presidential commission. The Governor’s proposed compromise would permit some 33 deepwater oil rigs to return to the business of pumping oil in the Gulf.
A lawsuit had been brought by a group of Louisiana oil supply companies to lift the ban, sueing U.S. regulators in the process.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans was told by special council to the Louisiana attorney general that federal officials had violated U.S. law when imposing the six-month ban in not consulting with state officials about the impact on Louisiana.
Henry Dart, special counsel for the Louisiana attorney general, told Judge Feldman that regulators had “failed to consult” with the state of Louisiana.
Up next right here in Houston is a hearing before U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas under a separate lawsuit brought by Diamond Drilling that alleges that U.S. regulators “illegally took its drilling contracts” worth $500,000 a day.
Diamond Offshore is the owner of the world’s second-largest floating drilling rig.
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Tags: Deepwater Drilling, Gulf
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