News Update: Federal Judge Lifts Obama's Drilling Moratorium (BP,HOS)

A federal judge in New Orleans ruled against President Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling Tuesday, which the White House hoped would provide an adequate timeframe to assure that wells were operating safely after the April 20th BP Plc (NYSE:BP) Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that continues to flood the Gulf of Mexico with oil due to a ruptured well on the Gulf's seafloor.

Louisiana-based Hornbeck Offshore Services (NYSE:HOS) filed suit against the May 28th moratorium, and over a dozen other companies joined the challenge to reverse the ban on drilling put in place by the U.S. Department of Interior.

U.S. district judge Martin Feldman wrote in a statement today: "An invalid agency decision to suspend drilling of wells in depths of over 500 feet 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."

Shares of Hornbeck Offshore Services initially gained a boost after the decision to file suit, and continue to trade up 0.06% Tuesday afternoon at $15.57.

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• HOS
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• orleans
• obama
• drilling
• Hombeck
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[ItsMsMargie]

A Federal Judge can do anything. An honorable Federal Judge can do anything. A Federal Judge and can order criminal investigations and often do.

[eaglecry1957]

The biggest threat to our welfare in the US is government overreach. Hey, Obama, leave those rigs alone! Get the government off of our backs and let the engine of capitalism run. Soon the economy will be back in the black and middle class Americans will be able to provide for their families again. Then we can all get back to worrying about imaginary demons like global warming and evil rich people. Funny how all that bullcrap fades when you can't put food on the table...

[jCazalot]

@commonman80 it happened because of BP's ignorance. no other company was this destructive in their operations. i guarantee it won't happen again for half a century at least.

[LesPaulCustom79]

When Toyota had their problems with sticking accelerators and faulty software, I didn't see Obama shut down the entire automotive industry in the United States while they investigated. We have been drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico for over 60+ YEARS, I repeat 60+ YEARS, and this is the ONLY oil spill incident in over 60 YEARS. U.S. Gov't, do your jobs, inspect all the offshore oil wells, shut down only the ones with major violations, allow oil wells in compliance to continue their work!!!

[LesPaulCustom79]

Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, the Federal Judge in the Appeals Court told the Obama administration to take their drilling moratorium and stick it up their ass. Basically he told Obama to get his fucking fingers out of the economy, to take his socialist agenda, put it where the sun doesn't shine, and quit blowing smoke up the American People's collective ass.

[STEEEVVYZ]

Louisiana is also to BLAME!! Wheres the vision? Oil is the only thing you can produce?small minds your lawmakers have sold you out to big oil,,AND YOU LET THEM..YOUR PRECIOUS JOB ISINT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE HEALTH OF A NATION...DIVERSIFY,,,DO SOMETHING ELSE !! YOU CAN GET ANOTHER JOB,,,BUT WE CANT GET ANOTHER GULF.....SELFISH . I guess as long as you have a job destroying your state and your country is ok!

[mrhulot101]

.America doesn't need a drilling moratorium. We need an immigration moratorium!

The USA grew uneccessarily by 100 million in last 40 years nearly all via immigration & thanks to unending unlimited immigration we are on track to reach a half a billion in a few decades. With a Moratorium on immigration in place we would level off around 330 million.

Who cares if we stop drilling, & inflate our tires, if we keep flooding the country with milliions of immigrants.

Immigration moratorium Now!

[commonman80]

What PISSES ME OFF is when they say "THE MORATORIUM WILL CAUSE THE PEOPLE IN THE GULF HARDSHIP, AND EFFECT THEIR LOCAL ECONOMY".

BULLSHIT. This Oil Spill IS NOT A "LOCAL" PROBLEM. IT'S SPILLING IN THE FUCKING OCEAN. HOW THE FUCK IS THAT LOCAL!!! If America DOES NOT FIND OUT HOW AND WHY THIS HAPPEND IT WILL JUST HAPPEN AGAIN.

The WHOLE EAST COAST IS AT RISK. Too add South America and Maybe even Cuba. What the fuck are they talking about "LOCAL". I live in NJ, and we may get hit by Plumbs.

[DOUCHEBAGSTOOKMYNAME]

Maybe not put them out, but he hasn't done much to fix the unemployment rate

[DOUCHEBAGSTOOKMYNAME]

Okay, bear with me because I'm about to be really immature for this ine comment.....

"FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!"

BEst political decision so far in this nightmare, one rigs malfunction doesn't mean the rest are defunct, these rigs have been drilling for years without accident, this is a good 50-75% of louisiana's economy right there, and keeping this moratorium up puts louisianians out of jobs, but president Obama is used to putting people out of jobs, being as he's done it his whole career