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Judge blocks Gulf offshore drilling moratorium

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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer – 6 mins ago

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge struck down the Obama

administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of
Mexico on Tuesday, saying the government rashly concluded that
because one rig failed, the others are in immediate danger, too.

The White House promised an immediate appeal. The Interior

Department had halted approval of any new permits for deepwater
Play Video drilling and suspended drilling of 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.
AP  – Gulf oil could impact fish shelter, food
source Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama believes
that until investigations can determine why the spill happened,
Slideshow: Gulf Coast Oil continued deepwater drilling could expose workers and the
Spill
environment to "a danger that the president does not believe we can
afford."
Video: Rescue and
Release: The Effort to Save Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other
the Birds ABC News
services to offshore drilling rigs asked U.S. District Judge Martin
Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium.
RELATED QUOTES
They argued it was arbitrarily imposed after the April 20 explosion on
BP 29.68 -0.65
the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers and blew out
RIG 52.49 -1.42
the well 5,000 feet underwater. It has spewed anywhere from 67 million sponsored links
XOM 61.94 -1.19
to 127 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.
Obama Urges Homeowners to Refinance
Feldman sided with the companies. Rates Hit 3.62% APR! Calculate New Mortgage
Payment Now.
"What seems clear is that the federal government has been pressed www.SeeRefinanceRates.com
by what happened on the Deepwater Horizon into an otherwise $74 /Hr Job - 117 Openings (OR)
sweeping confirmation that all Gulf deepwater drilling activities put us Can you Type? Earn $74+/hr From Home.
all in a universal threat of irreparable harm," he wrote. Seen on CNN & FOX News.
www.FinanceDigestNY.com
Feldman's financial disclosure report for 2008, the most recent
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AFP – Offshore oil rig supply ships dock at available, shows holdings in at least eight petroleum companies or
Port Fourchon, Louisiana, June 14, 2010.
Can You Type Earn $74+/hr From Home. Seen
Some 32 US firms, whose … companies that invest in them, including Transocean Ltd., which On CNN & FOX News.
owned the Deepwater Horizon. The report shows that most of his www.news7dailyonline.com
holdings were valued at less than $15,000, though it did not provide specific amounts.

It's not clear whether Feldman still has all of the energy industry stock listed in the report. Recent court filings Featured
indicate he may no longer have Transocean shares. He did not own any shares in big companies such as BP
PLC, which was leasing the rig that exploded, or ExxonMobil. Video: Leak in hi-res
BP released a new high-resolution
Feldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about his current holdings. video of the oil leak.
» More oil spill videos
Josh Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group, said his ruling should be rescinded if he still
has investments in companies that could benefit from Tuesday's ruling. Birds frozen in oil
Ghastly images of a desperate
"If Judge Feldman has any investments in oil and gas operators in the Gulf, it represents a flagrant conflict of
summer.
interest," he said. "It is possible that he has sold off those assets. We just don't know." » More oil spill stories

Feldman's ruling prohibits federal officials from enforcing the moratorium until a trial is held. He did not set a
date. Photos: Oil still flows
View striking images of the Gulf oil
The lawsuit was filed by Hornbeck Offshore Services of Covington, La., and company CEO Todd Hornbeck disaster.
said after the ruling he is looking forward to getting back to work. » More oil spill photos
"It's the right thing for not only the industry but the country," he said. Countdown to disaster
The gripping tale of the oil rig
Earlier in the day, executives at a major oil conference in London warned the moratorium would cripple world
workers and their rescue.
energy supplies. Steven Newman, president and CEO of Transocean, called it an unnecessary overreaction. » More from GQ.com

"There are things the administration could implement today that would allow the industry to go back to work
tomorrow without an arbitrary six-month time limit," Newman told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
Education
BP CEO Tony Hayward skipped the event after coming under fire for attending a yacht race in England on
Saturday rather than dealing with the spill. Jobs For Math Lovers
See how you can get paid $50K
Shares of BP, which owns 65 percent of the blown-out well, dropped 81 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $29.52, near and up to play with numbers.
a 14-year-old low for the shares in U.S. trading. Shares of other companies associated with the spill remained
low despite Feldman's ruling. Top Job of Decade: Nursing
See how online training can get
The drilling moratorium was declared May 6 and originally was to last only through the month. Obama you into this hot, high-paying
announced May 27 that he was extending it for six months. job fast!

In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal and corporate leaders said that would force drilling rigs to leave the Gulf of
Mexico for lucrative business in foreign waters.
Updates
They said the loss of business would cost the area thousands of lucrative jobs, most paying more than
My Connections Everyone
$50,000 a year. The state's other major economic sector, tourism, is a largely low-wage industry.

Feldman agreed, writing: "An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths over 500 feet
simply cannot justify the immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region and the
critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country."

Tim Kerner, the mayor of Lafitte, La., cheered the ruling.

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"I love it. I think it's great for the jobs here and the people who depend on them," said Kerner, whose
to start sharing things you do on
constituents make their living primarily from commercial fishing or oil. Yahoo! News.

In its response to the lawsuit, the Interior Department had argued the moratorium was necessary as attempts
to stop the leak and clean the Gulf continue and new safety standards are developed.

"A second deepwater blowout could overwhelm the efforts to respond to the current disaster," the Interior
Department said.

The government also challenged contentions the moratorium would cause long-term economic harm. Although
33 deepwater drilling sites were affected, there are still 3,600 oil and natural gas production platforms in the
Gulf.

Catherine Wannamaker, a lawyer for environmental groups that intervened in the case and supported the
moratorium, called the ruling "a step in the wrong direction."

"We think it overlooks the ongoing harm in the Gulf, the devastation it has had on people's lives," she said.
"The harm at issue with the Deepwater Horizon spill is bigger than just the Louisiana economy. It affects all of
the Gulf."

___

Associated Press Writers Pauline Arrillaga in Lafitte, La., and Jane Wardell and Robert Barr in London
contributed to this report.

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Big Oil strikes back, slams Obama's drilling ban AP News
For BP, a $20 billion drop in a very large bucket AP

168,431 Comments Show: Newest First Sort

 Post a Comment Comments 1 - 10 of 168431 First Prev Next Last

American 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

Too bad Barack Obama didn't get stuck in oil

 Diane H 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

Oh my....we have some angry people on here. Can you please watch your language?

Dennis 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

Just goes to show any one can be bought with enough money.Dont blame the admin.blame it on
money.Money is everything.U to can be bought and sold,many of us are,we are all slaves to
somebody.Its a shame that your or my vote will never change
that.Democrate,republican,independent,and tea party.They all have there own way of doing
things,right or wrong.But sooner or later they all will give in to the big money companies out of
greed.We dont matter or even exist to them at this point,only money!

Alan 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

Good (NO GREAT) move by the courts. This is what makes America great. Obama made a knee
jerk reaction. "Yes" we have to do it better. "Yes" the initial response failed. But we should not
shut down the Gulf oil supply because of this incident. Instead we need to learn from this tragedy
and make sure it never happens again.

John & Anna H 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

I'm confused...didn't obama APPROVE off shore drilling? And now to cover his #@$ he's pulling
the plug on it?!
Now that CHANGE you can believe in!!!!!!!!

MX 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

DRILL BABY DRILL!!!!!!!1

Justin 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

every time a republican president is in office....we are #1) at war with a small oil bearing country
who cant defend itself "in the name of american freedom" #2) the economy is dead broke #3) the
oil prices spike......THEN.....after the same rednecks who voted him in get sick of having high gas
prices.. they go back to the couch.... prey to the lord.... and allow the minority to elect a
democratic president to come in and repair the problem. Meanwhile,.... while he is criticised for all
kinds of intellegent stuff like his backround.. where he went to school....his skin color (new
one) ...his sexual actions...you know IMPORTANT ECONOMICAL STUFF! .....then after he tries
his best to clean up the republican war, lack of policy attention, and medical benifits deficit, they
vote him out ....and become REAL AMERICANS! and get another WAR FOR AMERICAN
FREEDOM AGAIN!...rinse...repeat

Midwheel 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

HOT DOG! Give this Judge a raise.

USMC Wife 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

Of course the White House is going to fight this. They just deposited $2Billion dollars into the
Brazilian well that falls within the guidelines of Obama's moratorium requirements.

What would happen to their huge investment if the judge overturns this moratorium???

Maybe they'll pull their money out of Petrobras and put it back in BP because of this sensible
judge.

Jeffkici 1 minute ago Report Abuse 0 0

I foresee the Judge being seriously reprimanded or disbarred if he issued a ruling while hold any
stock or personal interest in the oil companies while issuing this. It is a flagrant disregard of
judicial integrity as well as principals of international law and the right of the US and not any state
or entity to control what happens on the continental shelf/economic zone/ and all that. It is
completely wrong.

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