Mr Salazar had previously warned he would issue a new order to block deepwater drilling regardless of how the court ruled, as oil companies decided not to resume drilling due to the legal uncertainties.
The first moratorium was imposed after the deadly April 20 explosion on a BP-leased drilling rig sparked the worst environmental disaster in US history.
The new move, said the Interior Department, is supported by “an extensive record of existing and new information indicating that allowing new deepwater drilling to commence would pose a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to the marine, coastal, and human environment”.
– AFP