1,400 Leases in the Gulf of Mexico Extended -- Good News for Shareholders

Link here.

U.S. officials have extended oil-drilling leases for the vast majority of companies that say their work in the Gulf of Mexico was disrupted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the temporary drilling ban that followed the spill.

President Barack Obama announced in May that his administration would grant one-year extensions to certain companies operating in the deep waters of the Gulf. The goal was to give oil companies additional time to drill on their offshore leases following a moratorium on deepwater activity that lasted from May to October 2010.

More than 97% of the lease-extension requests received so far--or 1,381 of 1,413 applications -- had been approved.