A US federal appeals court late Thursday rejected the US government's bid for temporary permission to enforce a disputed moratorium on offshore drilling, dpa reported.
The US Court of Appeals for the fifth circuit, based in New Orleans, said President Barack Obama's administration had failed to demonstrate the "likelihood of irreparable injury" if the moratorium was not enforced.
The administration had asked the appeals court for permission to temporarily reinstate the moratorium while it appeals a June court decision that nixed the moratorium.
Obama issued the moratorium after the April 20 rupture of the giant BP Plc well in the Gulf of Mexico which continues to spew crude oil and endanger the ecology of marine and coastal life.
Thursday's ruling represented another victory for the oil industry, which had won a lower court decision against the moratorium.
Hornbeck Offshore Services and other Louisiana-based oil services companies, which provide ships and other services to oil companies, are arguing that the Obama administration's six-month moratorium on drilling oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico would irreparably harm their businesses.
In another development on Thursday, the White House gave BP 24 hours to respond to questions on its plans to replace a containment cap with a tighter seal on the gushing well.