(Reuters) – Seismic tests that are a precursor to offshore oil drilling will not take place in Atlantic waters this year, and possibly longer, attorneys for environmental groups that sued the federal government to stop the testing said on Thursday.
According to a statement by Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League in the lawsuit, a status conference in the litigation revealed that seismic testing companies will drop efforts this year in part because key permits expire on Nov. 30.
U.S. government officials were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Nichola Groom, Editing by Franklin Paul)
