BP Plan for Gulf Drilling Is Approved
HOUSTON — The Obama administration on Friday took another step toward allowing BP to return to the Gulf of Mexico, approving the first oil drilling plan for the company there since the explosion that sank the Deepwater Horizon rig more than a year ago.
It was another sign that oil exploration in the gulf was coming back to normal, although energy companies continued to complain that the permitting process for drilling new wells remained far slower than before the accident.
“A study released this month about the distribution of oil and gas from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico has found that the largest percentage of the spill—36 percent—never rose out of the underwater plume estimated at 3,300 to 4,300 feet below the surface; and that the slick visible on the surface only represented about 15 percent of the total leaked gas and oil.”
—Most of Deepwater Horizon Spill’s Oil Never Reached the Surface : TreeHugger
This was discussed over and over but nice to see it’s finally been released in an official study.
The Gulf of Mexico disaster is what inspired this blog and remains one of the most heart wrenching environmental disasters in the USA - and yet, most people think everything is just fine now. Thanks BP - stellar advertising, lying, and propaganda saturation.
Scientists say BP used courts to attack oil spill research - latimes.com
latimes.comScientists are accusing the BP oil company of using the U.S. courts to attack their calculations of how much oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster.
In a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in Massachusetts, charge that BP and other corporations damage scientific research when they subpoena documents and correspondence that lead to study conclusions. Richard Camilli, an ocean physicist, engineer and lead author of the paper, claimed that BP was intent on using such correspondence to raise doubts about the spill calculations.
Camilli and his colleagues called for legislation that would shield researchers from litigants who were “seeking to silence scientific inquiry or retribution for publishing independent research findings.”
A federal court in New Orleans is considering a proposed $7.8-billion settlement between BP and Gulf Coast victims of the 2010 oil spill. In preparation for a separate suit brought by the U.S. government, BP sought and obtained thousands of the scientists’ e-mails, as well as other documents, despite the insistence of scientists that the materials were confidential.
BP Spill Workers Say Dispersant Made Them Sick
motherjones.comWorkers claim they got sick from chemical used to break up oil from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But, the company that makes Corexit, Nalco states it is exempt from a lawsuit because their chemical was approved by the Federal Government. It seems that hundreds of workers with medical claims will probably lose, and the corporation might win on a technicality…
Full story at MoJo
The BP Gulf Oil Spill, Two Years Later
Two years have passed since BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform explosion killed 11 and released 5 million gallons of oil into the Gulf. And, what have our lawmakers done to minimize the likelihood of another catastrophe? Nothing.
The Big Spill, Two Years Later - NYTimes.com
Congress’s response to the spill has been truly pathetic. It has not passed a single bill to prevent another catastrophe, according to a report issued Tuesday by former members of a presidential commission that investigated the spill. Congress has failed even to codify the Interior Department’s sound regulatory reforms, which could be undone by a future administration.
I wish I were surprised, but I’m not.
Related articles
- Judge extends deadline for BP oil spill settlement (newsok.com)
- Oil Spill Commission Action Group Gives Congress Low Grades For Regulatory Reform On Drilling (huffingtonpost.com)
- Nagging and Lagging Problems with Off Shore Drilling Safety (recoverydiva.com)
“I wasn’t surprised we detected responses to an animal that is at high risk to exposure; what surprised me was the responses came at such low levels of the hydrocarbons...We were detecting cellular responses to toxins that are predictive of impairment of reproduction and embryo development, and we also detected that gills were compromised. We are seeing early warning indicators that would precede any population-level long-term effects. Andrew Whitehead, Assistant Professor, LSU Department of Biological Sciences”
—Real trouble could be ahead for Gulf fish, wildlife, researcher warns - Nola.comDocuments obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials discussing how to influence the work of scientists
guardian.co.ukBP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly discussing how to influence the work of scientists supported by the fund, which was created by the oil company in May last year.
Russell Putt, a BP environmental expert, wrote in an email to colleagues on 24 June 2010: “Can we ‘direct’ GRI [Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative] funding to a specific study (as we now see the governor’s offices trying to do)? What influence do we have over the vessels/equipment driving the studies vs the questions?”.
The email was obtained by Greenpeace and shared with the Guardian.
The documents are expected to reinforce fears voiced by scientists that BP has too much leverage over studies into the impact of last year’s oil disaster.
Those concerns go far beyond academic interest into the impact of the spill. BP faces billions in fines and penalties, and possible criminal charges arising from the disaster. Its total liability will depend in part on a final account produced by scientists on how much oil entered the gulf from its blown-out well, and the damage done to marine life and coastal areas in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The oil company disputes the government estimate that 4.1m barrels of oil entered the gulf.
BP to invest over $40 billion in Gulf of Mexico oil drilling, beginning with the 6,800 foot 'Galapagos deepwater wells'
rigzone.comTwo years after the Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion in 2010, BP will begin (with Obama’s approval) to accelerate drilling operations in even deeper waters off U.S. shores. BP, a foreign company, is the largest lease holder of U.S. oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. They’re investing over $40 billion over the next ten years in exploitation additional oil exploration, atop billions already invested in wells.
More at Rigzone. Follow Climate Adaptation.
