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New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A federal judge in New Orleans blocked a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a ruling the White House said it would immediately appeal.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued.
President Obama ordered the moratorium after the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off Louisiana. Eleven people died in the blast, which triggered an underwater oil gusher.
Brian Collins, an attorney for the Justice Department, had insisted Monday that the suspension was necessary while officials conducted a safety review.
But a group of companies that provides boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry filed a lawsuit claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico and asked the court to declare the moratorium invalid and unenforceable.
Feldman agreed, writing in his ruling that "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."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the government immediately will appeal the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The president strongly believes, as the Department of Interior and Department of Justice argued yesterday, that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense," Gibbs said. Such drilling "puts the safety of those involved, potentially puts safety of those on the rigs and the safety of the environment and the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."
Transocean President Steve Newman, whose company owned the Deepwater Horizon, said Tuesday that he supported ending the moratorium, and the office of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal filed a brief in support of blocking the moratorium.
"This is an environmental disaster. Let's not make it an economic disaster," said Henry Dart, an attorney for the state of Louisiana.
Government estimates indicate as much as 60,000 barrels (or 2.5 million gallons) of oil may be flowing into the Gulf every day, and the gusher already has taken a toll on tourism and the fishing industry in Gulf Coast states.
Shane Guidry said his company, which provides support vessels for deepwater drilling, may have to make cuts.
"I'm very, very concerned. I can see this going on for 24 to 36 months. If that happens, we have no choice but to let people go. We have investors to think about, returns to think about," said Guidry, CEO of Harvey Gulf International Marine. "We're in survival mode right now, and we have to survive this."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed 86,985 square miles -- about 36 percent of the Gulf's federal waters -- to fishing.
BP said Tuesday it had collected 25,830 barrels -- 1.08 million gallons -- of oil from the gushing undersea well over the past 24 hours. The amount is the most ever collected; the previous record was Thursday, when 25,290 barrels were collected.
Of the 25,830 barrels, 10,270 were "flared" aboard the Q4000, a ship that uses a specialized clean-burning system to flare oil and gas captured by a containment system. BP previously estimated the Q4000 would collect between 5,000 and 10,000 barrels a day.
Progress continues to be made on the drilling of two relief wells, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.
"They're in a position now where they're closing on the wellbore," Allen said. "They're going to do something that's called ranging, where they actually send electrical current down the wellbore and ... it allows them to get an accurate reading about how far away from the pipe -- the wellbore -- they are getting as they get closer to making the intercept here in the next few weeks. But that ranging operation is scheduled to start in the next 24 hours."
Meanwhile, protesters briefly disrupted an oil conference Tuesday in London, England, that BP CEO Tony Hayward pulled out of a day earlier.
A woman got onstage and started shouting just before the welcoming speech by Steve Westwell, the BP chief of staff who was standing in for Hayward at the World National Oil Companies Congress. Security quickly removed the woman.
Greenpeace campaigner Emma Gibson told the crowd that "because BP is incapable of telling you the truth, I'm going to tell you what you need to know."
Westwell started his speech by apologizing on Hayward's behalf for not being able to attend the conference. He said the past few weeks have been "extremely difficult for BP" following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.
"It has been hugely shocking for us, for America, and for the rest of the world," Westwell said. "Everyone at BP is devastated, and we deeply regret what's happened. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. And we are profoundly aware of our responsibilities to those people whose livelihoods and neighborhoods have suffered."
He said BP is doing "everything in our power to put the damage right" and to learn lessons to prevent such catastrophes in the future.
"I'd also like to make it clear this is not simply about fulfilling our legal obligations. We feel a huge moral responsibility," he said. "All of us at BP will work tirelessly to clean up this spill, repair the damage and restore the Gulf Coast communities."
Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing BP's $20 billion escrow claims fund, is scheduled to meet Tuesday with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Feinberg said Monday that he wants to accelerate the claims-payment process.
Elsewhere, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said the Islamic republic would consider helping the U.S. with the oil spill if asked, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.
"The fact that America is still stuck, despite all its claims that it will solve this problem, is puzzling," ILNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying. "The difficult solution of an oil spill, from the standpoint that it's a humanitarian problem, persuades all countries to offer help.
"Iran has professional experts, and if the Americans ask for help we will take their request under consideration," Mehmanparast said, according to the report.
BP said Monday that costs from the disaster now total about $2 billion, including the cost of the response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. To date, more than 65,000 claims have been submitted and more than 32,000 payments totaling more than $105 million have been made, the company said.
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A federal judge in New Orleans blocked a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a ruling the White House said it would immediately appeal.
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued.
President Obama ordered the moratorium after the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off Louisiana. Eleven people died in the blast, which triggered an underwater oil gusher.
Brian Collins, an attorney for the Justice Department, had insisted Monday that the suspension was necessary while officials conducted a safety review.
But a group of companies that provides boats and equipment to the offshore drilling industry filed a lawsuit claiming the government has no evidence that existing operations pose a threat to the Gulf of Mexico and asked the court to declare the moratorium invalid and unenforceable.
Feldman agreed, writing in his ruling that "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."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the government immediately will appeal the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The president strongly believes, as the Department of Interior and Department of Justice argued yesterday, that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense," Gibbs said. Such drilling "puts the safety of those involved, potentially puts safety of those on the rigs and the safety of the environment and the Gulf at a danger that the president does not believe we can afford right now."
Transocean President Steve Newman, whose company owned the Deepwater Horizon, said Tuesday that he supported ending the moratorium, and the office of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal filed a brief in support of blocking the moratorium.
"This is an environmental disaster. Let's not make it an economic disaster," said Henry Dart, an attorney for the state of Louisiana.
Government estimates indicate as much as 60,000 barrels (or 2.5 million gallons) of oil may be flowing into the Gulf every day, and the gusher already has taken a toll on tourism and the fishing industry in Gulf Coast states.
Shane Guidry said his company, which provides support vessels for deepwater drilling, may have to make cuts.
"I'm very, very concerned. I can see this going on for 24 to 36 months. If that happens, we have no choice but to let people go. We have investors to think about, returns to think about," said Guidry, CEO of Harvey Gulf International Marine. "We're in survival mode right now, and we have to survive this."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed 86,985 square miles -- about 36 percent of the Gulf's federal waters -- to fishing.
BP said Tuesday it had collected 25,830 barrels -- 1.08 million gallons -- of oil from the gushing undersea well over the past 24 hours. The amount is the most ever collected; the previous record was Thursday, when 25,290 barrels were collected.
Of the 25,830 barrels, 10,270 were "flared" aboard the Q4000, a ship that uses a specialized clean-burning system to flare oil and gas captured by a containment system. BP previously estimated the Q4000 would collect between 5,000 and 10,000 barrels a day.
Progress continues to be made on the drilling of two relief wells, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.
"They're in a position now where they're closing on the wellbore," Allen said. "They're going to do something that's called ranging, where they actually send electrical current down the wellbore and ... it allows them to get an accurate reading about how far away from the pipe -- the wellbore -- they are getting as they get closer to making the intercept here in the next few weeks. But that ranging operation is scheduled to start in the next 24 hours."
Meanwhile, protesters briefly disrupted an oil conference Tuesday in London, England, that BP CEO Tony Hayward pulled out of a day earlier.
A woman got onstage and started shouting just before the welcoming speech by Steve Westwell, the BP chief of staff who was standing in for Hayward at the World National Oil Companies Congress. Security quickly removed the woman.
Greenpeace campaigner Emma Gibson told the crowd that "because BP is incapable of telling you the truth, I'm going to tell you what you need to know."
Westwell started his speech by apologizing on Hayward's behalf for not being able to attend the conference. He said the past few weeks have been "extremely difficult for BP" following the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.
"It has been hugely shocking for us, for America, and for the rest of the world," Westwell said. "Everyone at BP is devastated, and we deeply regret what's happened. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. And we are profoundly aware of our responsibilities to those people whose livelihoods and neighborhoods have suffered."
He said BP is doing "everything in our power to put the damage right" and to learn lessons to prevent such catastrophes in the future.
"I'd also like to make it clear this is not simply about fulfilling our legal obligations. We feel a huge moral responsibility," he said. "All of us at BP will work tirelessly to clean up this spill, repair the damage and restore the Gulf Coast communities."
Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing BP's $20 billion escrow claims fund, is scheduled to meet Tuesday with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. Feinberg said Monday that he wants to accelerate the claims-payment process.
Elsewhere, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said the Islamic republic would consider helping the U.S. with the oil spill if asked, according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.
"The fact that America is still stuck, despite all its claims that it will solve this problem, is puzzling," ILNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying. "The difficult solution of an oil spill, from the standpoint that it's a humanitarian problem, persuades all countries to offer help.
"Iran has professional experts, and if the Americans ask for help we will take their request under consideration," Mehmanparast said, according to the report.
BP said Monday that costs from the disaster now total about $2 billion, including the cost of the response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs. To date, more than 65,000 claims have been submitted and more than 32,000 payments totaling more than $105 million have been made, the company said.
