by David Gura

Oil service companies head to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana this morning, to try to lift the moratorium on deep-water drilling, NPR's Robert Smith reports from New Orleans.

The Obama administration put a six-month hold on new wells in water deeper than 500 feet.  The oil businesses will argue that the moratorium on new deep-water drilling is driving the industry out of the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Associated Press, "a lawsuit filed by [Hornbeck Offshore Services] claims the government arbitrarily imposed the moratorium and suspended drilling at 33 existing exploratory wells without any proof that the operations posed a threat."

Sam Giberga, general counsel of Hornbeck Offshore Services, says that, if the moratorium stays in place, rigs and ships will go to Brazil or Africa:

And as a result, we're going to have a loss of expertise to conduct drilling in a safe manner.

The moratorium will be defended in court by administration lawyers and the Southern Environmental Law Center.  Derb S. Carter, Jr., a lawyer with the group, says that every deep-water well is now suspect.

All these companies have given the same assurances this type of disaster will never happen.  And they've had the same inadequate oversight by the [Minerals Management Service].

According to Smith, oil companies say the government should have to prove there's a threat before shutting rigs down.