July 30, 2010 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Friday voted to end the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling for oil companies that meet new federal safety requirements.
The end of the moratorium was an amendment to a pending energy bill the House was poised to vote on.
The Obama administration imposed the six-month moratorium on exploratory drilling in waters more than 500 feet deep in response to the BP oil spill. The moratorium runs through the end of November.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett and Richard Cowa; Editing by David Gregorio)
