A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday blocked the six-month moratorium President Barack Obama imposed on deep-water drilling in late May, and the White House said it would appeal the decision. The Interior Department defended the ban and promised to take steps to enforce it.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman said he issued an injunction because the Interior Department had acted capriciously and had failed to show that the oil spill triggered by the Deepwater Horizon rig blowout in April meant there was imminent danger linked to all deep-water drilling. By contrast, he said, the harm to the industry and region was clear and concrete.
“An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of 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,” Feldman said.
The injunction was sought by companies that provide services to offshore drilling.
“Are all airplanes a danger because one was?” he asked. “All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy-handed and rather overbearing.”
The moratorium had idled 33 rigs involved in exploration drilling.
Conflict of interest?
The judge immediately came under attack from groups supporting the moratorium. The Center for American Progress cited disclosure forms from 2008 that show that Feldman had been an active investor in companies involved in offshore oil and gas exploration, including deep-water rig owner Transocean, shallow-water drillers Hercules and Rowan, and international rig and tool provider Parker Drilling. The investments were no bigger than $15,000 each, according to the form.
The judge’s 2009 disclosure form was not immediately available.
The Obama administration said it would take the case to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
“We will immediately appeal,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. He added that until the safety issues are fully understood, drilling in deep water does not “make any sense.”
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement late Tuesday that he will issue a new order within the next few days imposing a moratorium that eliminates any doubt it is needed and appropriate.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, denounced Feldman’s ruling.
“This is another bad decision in a disaster riddled with bad decisions by the oil industry,” he said. “The only thing worse than one oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico would be two oil spill disasters.”
Companies involved in deep-water exploration reacted cautiously.
“It is unclear how that appeal will affect the ability of the deep-water drillers to return to work,” said Michael Kearns, director of external affairs at the National Ocean Industries Association.
Shell Oil issued a statement calling the injunction “an important step in returning thousands of oil service workers to their jobs. Shell remains confident in its expertise and procedures to safely drill and complete deep-water wells.”
Feldman was blunt in his order. He said the administration’s six-month moratorium “does not seem to be fact-specific and refuses to take into measure the safety records of those others in the gulf.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
