A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.
According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.
The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision. The Interior Department, which oversees federal offshore energy development, had only asked the court for more time to conduct the sale, which had been scheduled to take place on Sept. 29 but was delayed to Nov. 8 before being postponed indefinitely pending the outcome of the litigation.
An Interior Department spokesperson had no comment on the order.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), a plaintiff alongside the state of Louisiana and Chevron Corp, applauded the ruling.
"The U.S. Gulf of Mexico plays a critical role in maintaining affordable, reliable American energy production, and today's decision creates greater certainty for the essential energy workforce and the entire Gulf Coast economy," API General Counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement.
The lower court's decision in September restored 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) to the auction after the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management reduced the area available for lease to protect the Rice's whale. About 50 of the animals are seen year-round in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
The oil and gas industry had sued in August to challenge the agency's move.
"This disappointing and unjustified ruling could be the death knell for the nearly extinct Rice's whale," Earthjustice attorney George Torgun said by email. Earthjustice represented environmental groups Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and Turtle Island Restoration Network in the litigation.
(Reuters - Reporting by Nichola GroomEditing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang)