Oil and water don’t mix. Nor, apparently, do coal and natural gas - at least in one instance.

Bloomberg News reported yesterday afternoon that Colorado-based natural-gas producer Bill Barrett Corp. won a federal court order that temporarily bars Peabody Energy Corp. from exploring for coal on more than 10,000 acres near one of its mines in Campbell County, Wyoming.

A temporary restraining order was issued and remains in place until Jan. 17.

Peabody won approval to search for coal on government land where Bill Barrett operates gas wells. Bill Barrett says Peabody’s drilling could harm natural gas reservoirs, threatening 6 million cubic feet of daily production, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court against the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management.

Peabody isn’t a party in the lawsuit, which also asks the court to undo the government’s approval of the coam producer’s exploration license.