Injunction Leads to Legal Limbo in US Gulf

摘要

Companies operating in the US Gulf of Mexico find themselves in a state of legal limbo after a federal judge issued an injunction this week blocking the Obama administration's sixmonth moratorium on deepwater drilling. The ruling - issued by the US District Court in New Orleans on Tuesday - appeared to be a victory for Hornbeck Offshore Services and other firms who had challenged the moratorium as a heavy-handed, kneejerk reaction to the blowout and oil spill from BP's Macondo well (OD Jun.23,p1).