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Government to pay $1.1 billion in oil lease case
(Reuters) - A group of oil companies were awarded more than $1 billion by a U.S. court of appeals to recover their costs related to offshore leases in California.
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered the government to return the funds the plaintiffs had paid as upfront bonuses for rights to the offshore leases, the court document showed.
The oil companies were not able to drill on the leases because of legal battles over government plans to protect coastal areas.
The plaintiffs include Delta Petroleum Corp, Total SA, Plains Exploration and Production, Noble Energy, Anadarko E&P and Devon Energy.
The 35 leases at issue were granted by the government between 1979 to 1984 to oil companies, authorizing them to explore and develop oil and gas resources.
The companies had paid the government upfront bonuses for exploration and development rights.
The companies could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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