Court Upholds Order To Expand Oil And Gas Lease Sale In The Gulf Of Mexico

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has upheld a lower court’s order that the U.S. Administration should hold an expanded oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico as initially intended but gave the Department of the Interior a few more weeks until November 8 to hold the auction. At the end of August, the federal government reduced the area to be offered in the upcoming Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale by 9% to safeguard the habitat of a rare whale species. But the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. supermajor…