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June 22, 2012

U.S. Opens Offshore Oil Drilling in Gulf of Mexico 
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The federal government has auctioned off sections of the Gulf of Mexico
for offshore oil drilling for the first time since the area was hit by
the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Companies submitted $1.7 billion in
winning bids for areas off the coast of Alabama, Louisiana and
Mississippi. Oil company BP reportedly won dozens of leases to drill in
the region near the site of its historic 2010 disaster. Environmental
groups had tried to block the sale with a lawsuit earlier this week,
saying the drilling would imperil an already battered ecosystem.

 

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