A US judge has blocked the Obama administration’s six- month ban on deepwater drilling, complicating efforts to improve the safety of offshore oil operations after the worst spill in US history.

Oil industry executives today warned that President Barack Obama’s six-month ban on deepwater drilling would hit world supplies.

The owners of wrecked rig spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico today criticised the US government’s six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the area.

ChevronTexaco Corp plans to invest some €20bn in Africa over the next five years, Jay Pryor, the head of its Nigerian operation said.