California Judge Halts Drilling

S A N   F R A N C I S C O, June 22 -- A federal judge halted oil and natural gasexploration off central California's coast today, saying the areacan't be drilled or explored until the federal government studiesenvironmental impacts and the California Coastal Commissionapproves the plan.

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken is ablow to petroleum companies that have left their leases dormantwhile natural gas and oil prices have neared all-time highs.Environmentalists hailed the decision.

"We think it's a bad idea to have additional oil and gasdrilling off the coast," said Drew Caputo, an attorney with theNatural Resources Defense Council.

For now, the decision blocks any attempt to build the first newoil platforms off California's coast since 1994. No drilling toexplore for oil deposits has been conducted since 1989.

Oil exploration in the region has been an explosive issue since1969, when a massive oil spill soiled the coast off Santa Barbara.Offshore rigs account for roughly 20 percent of the state'spetroleum production, and offshore gas could prove to be a keyresource as California seeks to solve its energy crisis.

Roadblocks in Florida and Mexico

On Thursday, the U.S. House voted to delay a Bush administrationeffort to open part of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gasexploration.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has urged the administration not toproceed with plans to extend offshore drilling to a tract thatcomes as close as 17 miles to Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle.

Proponents of leases, led by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, saythe nation needs the area's oil and gas reserves to help ease theenergy crunch. The department estimates there are 2.9 trillioncubic feet of natural gas reserves in the area, with industryprojecting as much as 7.8 trillion cubic feet.