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)