The governor of Florida would consider going to court to guarantee his right to permit offshore oil exploration around Florida’s coasts. But Charlie Crist, who has been cited as a possible running mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain, told the Financial Times that in preference to court action it would be “more productive” for Congress to overturn its ban on offshore drilling.

Oil exploration in all but a few sectors of US coastal waters has been prohibited since the 1980s by separate congressional and presidential bans. However, George W. Bush on Monday lifted the White House’s moratorium and called on Congress to do the same.