U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Sale Expansion, Pending Appeal

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday temporarily paused a federal judge's order last month that had required the Biden administration to expand a planned offshore oil and gas auction in the Gulf of Mexico by 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed the September decision pending an appeal, according to a court document. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 13 in New Orleans.

The order was the latest in a legal fight over offshore drilling and federal protection of an endangered species of whale. The oil and gas industry and the state of Louisiana sued the Interior Department in August over its decision to scale back an auction to reduce conflicts with the Rice's whale habitat.

The dispute reflects the difficulty for Biden's White House of seeking to balance national energy security with environmental concerns.

The Gulf of Mexico sale was originally scheduled for last month, but the appeals court on Sept. 25 allowed the Interior Department to delay it to incorporate the additional acreage and other revised sale terms ordered by a lower court judge. 

The sale was later rescheduled to Nov. 8. It was not immediately clear how Thursday's order would affect that timing.

An Interior Department spokesperson did not immediately have any comment on the ruling.

The American Petroleum Institute, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, and Earthjustice, which sought the emergency stay on behalf of four environmental groups, both said they looked forward to presenting their cases to the Fifth Circuit.

"We will continue to work to provide greater certainty for American energy workers, the Gulf Coast economy and a stronger future for U.S. energy security," API General Counsel Ryan Meyers said in a statement.

Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda said the group would "continue to press for restoring basic measures to prevent harm to the critically endangered Rice's whale." 

(Reuters - Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rod Nickel)