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US sues BP, eight others over Gulf oil spill

In Uncategorized on December 16, 2010 at 9:44 am

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States filed suit for the first time against BP and eight other companies for uncounted billions of dollars in damages from a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst in US history.


The complaint was filed by the Justice Department with a federal court in New Orleans, where thousands of individuals and small businesses have already sued the oil giant.

AFP file – A photo taken in April 2010 shows fire boat crews battling the blazing remnants of the BP operated off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the complaint alleges that “violations of safety and operational regulations” caused the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which sent nearly five million barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf.


“We intend to prove… that the defendants are therefore responsible under the Oil Pollution Act for government removal losses, economic losses, as well as environmental damages,” he said.


“We’re also seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized use of oil in the waters,” he added.


Holder went on to list a series of failures that led to the disaster.


He said necessary precautions weren’t taken to secure the well, the safest drilling technology was not used to monitor its condition, continuous surveillance was not maintained and safety equipment was faulty.


The defendants named in the suit were BP Exploration and Production Inc; Transocean Deepwater Inc; Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc; Transocean Holdings LLC; Anadarko Exploration and Production LP; Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC; Triton Asset Leasing GMBH; and QBE Underwriting Ltd/Lloyd’s syndicate 1036.


QBE/Lloyd’s, an insurer, was not being sued under the Clean Water Act and can be held liable only up to the amount of Transocean’s insurance policy coverage, the Justice Department said.


BP said in a statement that it would “answer the government?s allegations in a timely manner and will continue to cooperate with all government investigations and inquiries.”


The world’s third largest oil company has defended its response to the spill, which has included selling off assets around the world to raise 30 billion dollars to cover both clean-up and compensation costs.


It has estimated its exposure at nearly 40 billion dollars.


“Alone among the parties, BP has stepped up to pay for the clean-up of the oil, setting aside 20 billion dollars to pay all legitimate claims,” the company said.


“We took these steps before any legal determination of responsibility and will continue to fulfil our commitments in the Gulf as the legal process unfolds.”


BP owns 65 percent of the ruptured Macondo well, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. owns a 25 percent share, and MOEX Offshore, a unit of Mitsui Oil Exploration Co, owns 10 percent. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon rig itself.


Justice Department lawyers have been conducting parallel civil and criminal investigations since the fiery explosion, which killed 11 workers and toppled the giant rig into Gulf of Mexico.


The rig’s collapse ruptured underwater risers, unleashing a torrent of oil that fouled environmentally fragile Gulf coasts and disrupted local fishing and tourism industries for three months before it was sealed in September.


Among the losses listed in the US complaint were “hundreds of miles of coastal habitats, including salt marshes, sandy beaches, and mangroves; a variety of wildlife, including birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals.”


In the Gulf itself, the potential damage extended to “various biota, benthic communities, marine organisms, coral, fish, and water-column habitat,” it said.


And it said the spill resulted in lost opportunities for “fishing, swimming, beach-going, and viewing of birds and wildlife.”


Holder said the Justice Department would continue to investigate the disaster and ways of preventing future spills, adding that the legal action taken Wednesday “is not a final step.”


“As our investigations continue, we will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to hold accountable those responsible for this spill,” he said.


“The full extent of potential injuries, destruction, loss and loss of services is not yet fully known and may not be fully known for many years.”

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Source: SGGP

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BP did not put profit before safety on Gulf well: probe

In Uncategorized on November 9, 2010 at 6:22 am

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Alabama sues BP over oil spill

In Uncategorized on August 14, 2010 at 7:22 am

Alabama, Aug 13, 2010 (AFP) – The southern US state of Alabama has filed a lawsuit against BP and other companies linked to the oil spill “catastrophe” that soiled the Gulf of Mexico coastline, a state official said Friday.


The lawsuit, filed Thursday, accuses British oil giant BP, Transocean, “and others responsible for the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe” of causing serious damage through negligence and failing to adhere to safety standards.


The amount of compensation Alabama is seeking will be determined in court, state Attorney General Troy King said in a statement.


“BP said that this was their disaster and they would accept responsibility for it. Yet thousands wait while their claims are backed up in the system,” King said.


“Based on BP’s broken promises, their history of saying one thing and doing another, and now, new information that they have been secretly working to gain a legal advantage, further delay (of legal action) can only further damage our people,” King said.


He accused the energy firm of “retaining all the best expert witnesses, not because they need their services, but so the experts will be unable to testify against BP.”

The sun rises over the beach August 13, 2010 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. AFP

Alabama is seeking compensation, among other things, for destruction of the state’s natural resources; economic losses resulting from destruction of state property; and for the loss of taxes revenue.


The state also wants money for cleanup response and rehabilitation costs, and wants punitive damages imposed on the companies.


“BP is now on notice, Alabama intends to hold you good to your word and to make you put our state back the way you found it,” King said.


BP said Thursday it had paid out 347 million dollars in claims since May 3, after receiving 148,000 claims.


It said it has yet to deny a single claim, though some 40,000 claims are still outstanding or awaiting adjustment.


The company, which has seen its reputation take a beating in the US over the oil spill, insists it is doing the best it can and has promised to pay all legitimate claims.


The Macondo well off the coast of Louisiana began leaking after a massive explosion ripped through the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig April 20, killing 11 workers and causing the platform to sink two days later.


An estimated 4.9 million barrels have leaked into the ocean — enough oil to fill 311 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The disaster is the biggest maritime spill on record.


The spill affected the coasts of the southern US states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as parts of the Florida and Texas coastline.

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Source: SGGP

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BP spends 6.1 bln dollars on Gulf spill response: company

In Uncategorized on August 9, 2010 at 11:22 am

LONDON, Aug 9, 2010 (AFP) – British energy giant BP said Monday that it has spent a total of 6.1 billion dollars in response costs to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, days after plugging the damaged well with concrete.


“The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately 6.1 billion dollars (4.6 billion euros), including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, static kill and cementing, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs,” BP said in a statement.


An estimated 4.9 million barrels, more than 205 million gallons, spewed from BP’s ruptured well in the 87 days from the beginning of the disaster until the leak was finally capped on July 15, the US government has said.

A BP mobile claims office is seen on August 4, 2010 in Chalmette, Louisiana. AFP

The company revealed on Thursday that it had finished pumping cement into the damaged well after a five-hour operation.


“The MC252 well has been shut-in since July 15; there is currently no oil flowing into the Gulf,” the group said on Monday.


It added: “Following the completion of cementing operations on the MC252 well on August 5, pressure testing was performed which indicated there is an effective cement plug in the casing. BP believes the static kill and cementing procedures have been successful.”

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Source: SGGP

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BP plugs runaway oil well in Gulf of Mexico

In Uncategorized on August 6, 2010 at 7:21 am

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Aug 5, 2010 (AFP) – BP plugged its runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico with cement Thursday, one of the final steps in permanently sealing the gusher at the center of the worst US environmental disaster on record.


Some 15 weeks after the well ruptured and 21 days after the flow was fully stemmed with a temporary cap, the massive oil slick that once stretched for hundreds of miles is rapidly disappearing from the Gulf.

This still image from a live BP video feed shows a view from a submersible of the BP well area on August 5, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. AFP

But officials cautioned that a great deal of clean-up work remained and that the long-term impact of the disaster could be felt for years, even decades.


“This is not the end, but it will virtually assure us that there will be no chance of oil leaking into the environment,” said spill response chief Thad Allen, adding, “I think we can all breathe a little easier.”


In a long-awaited breakthrough, BP brought the well under control Wednesday after pumping heavy drilling fluid into the busted Macondo well for eight hours, forcing the oil back down into the reservoir miles beneath the seabed.


The British energy giant then began pumping cement at 09:15 CDT (1415 GMT), and the “static kill” operation was completed in five hours.


“Monitoring of the well is underway in order to confirm the effectiveness of the procedure,” BP said in a statement.


Work will resume on finishing a relief well, once the cement has dried, that will pierce the base of the well and entomb a pipe no bigger than a dinner plate in mud and cement.


It will likely be mid-August before that operation is complete and the well is finally “killed.”


It took 106 days to shut the well down in the wake of a devastating explosion on April 20 that killed 11 workers and sank the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig two days later, unleashing a torrent of oil into the Gulf.


At 4.9 million barrels — or enough oil to fill 311 Olympic-sized swimming pools — the disaster is the biggest maritime spill on record.


Heavy brown oil coated fragile coastal wetlands, sullied sandy white beaches, and smothered thousands of birds, turtles, dolphins and other marine life.


The disaster crippled the Gulf’s multibillion dollar commercial and recreational fishing industry and plunged residents of coastal communities into months of anguish over their livelihoods and the region’s future.


A government report released Wednesday found that a third of the oil was captured or mitigated through burning, skimming, chemical dispersion and direct recovery from the wellhead.


Another twenty percent or so was “completely removed” from the system through natural processes as waves and currents broke the slick up into smaller patches and the warm waters helped speed biodegradation and evaporation.


“Most of the remainder is degrading rapidly, or is being removed from the beaches,” Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told a White House briefing.


But Lubchenco was quick to stress that the oil will likely have “very considerable impacts” on the ecosystem for “years and possibly decades to come.”


That has fishermen worried about what they’ll find when they are finally allowed back out on the water with their boats, and whether consumers will be willing to eat what they catch.


And with tourists likely to avoid Gulf beaches for years and oil industry jobs under threat from President Barack Obama’s moratorium on new deep sea drilling permits, the future remains bleak for many coastal communities.


“It’s impossible to know how this thing is ultimately going to play out,” said Matt O’Brian, owner of a shrimp and crab processing dock in the coastal town of Venice, Louisiana.


O’Brian welcomed the news that the well was finally under control, but said it “can’t overcome the atmosphere of uncertainty lingering out at sea.”


He’s worried about the oil’s impact on crab and shrimp populations and wonders if there will ever be a market for Louisiana seafood.


Todd Goodman, who works for the local government and runs a trailer park as a sideline, agreed.


“There is enormous pressure on BP to claim that everything is fine now. But what scares me and a lot of other folks around here is the notion that everybody – BP, the Coast Guard, law enforcement, cleanup crews – will suddenly pull up stakes and leave,” he said.


“Then, two months later — boom! — more oil washes up on us.”

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Source: SGGP

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Hope for Gulf as BP plugs well, most of the oil gone

In Uncategorized on August 5, 2010 at 7:22 am

An end to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster was in sight as BP plugged its runaway well and US officials said most of the toxic crude has been cleaned up or dispersed.


Though undoubtedly the best day since the disaster began more than 15 weeks ago, US officials cautioned that a great deal of clean-up work remained and that the long-term impact could be felt for years, even decades, to come.


BP’s long-awaited “static kill” was conducted overnight as heavy drilling fluid was rammed into the busted Macondo well for eight hours, forcing the oil back down into the reservoir miles beneath the seabed.


We “have reached a static condition in the well that allows us to have high confidence that there will be no oil leaking into the environment,” US spill response chief Thad Allen told reporters at a White House briefing.

A Brown Pelican flies at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station as the center prepares to transfer the birds after they were rehabilitated from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.

The breakthrough came 106 days after a devastating explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20 killed 11 workers and unleashed a torrent of oil into the Gulf.


“So, the long battle to stop the leak and contain the oil is finally close to coming to an end. And we are very pleased with that,” US President Barack Obama said. “Our recovery efforts, though, will continue. We have to reverse the damage that’s been done.”


Allen later authorized BP to cement over the busted well, an operation that the British-based energy giant said would begin Thursday.


The US pointman also said, however, that he had “made it clear” to the company that the cementing should “in no way delay the completion of the relief well,” expected to be finished mid-August to seal the well sealed permanently.


At 4.9 million barrels — or enough oil to fill 311 Olympic-sized swimming pools — the disaster is the biggest maritime spill on record.


It threatened the fish and wildlife-rich US Gulf coast with environmental ruin and plunged residents of coastal communities into months of anguish over their livelihoods and the region’s future.


A government report released Wednesday found that a third of the oil was captured or mitigated through burning, skimming, chemical dispersion and direct recovery from the wellhead.


Heat from the sun helped some of the chemicals in the crude evaporate. Waves and currents broke the slick up into smaller patches. Then the microbes which feed on natural oil seeps in the Gulf got to work, it said.


“At least 50 percent of the oil that was released is now completely gone from the system,” said Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.


“And most of the remainder is degrading rapidly, or is being removed from the beaches.”


But Lubchenco was quick to stress that scientists will not be able to determine for a long time the full extent of the damage.


“The oil that was released and has already impacted wildlife at the surface, young juvenile stages and eggs beneath the surface, will likely have very considerable impacts for years and possibly decades to come,” she told reporters at the White House briefing.


The problem, she explained, is that oil is still toxic even when it has been broken down into very small droplets. And there was simply so very, very much of it.


About 24 percent of the Gulf’s federal waters remain closed to fishing, and even when fishermen are able to fill their nets they fear consumers might not believe the seafood is safe to eat.

With tourists likely to avoid Gulf beaches for years and oil industry jobs under threat from Obama’s moratorium on new deep sea drilling permits, the future remains bleak for many coastal communities.

BP, meanwhile, is hoping to rebuild its shattered reputation but must also meet the claims of thousands of individuals and businesses whose livelihoods have been washed away, while a mammoth civil trial looms.

BP senior vice president Kent Wells expressed relief that 20 days after the flow of oil in the sea was stemmed with a temporary cap “it’s very difficult for us to find any oil anywhere on the surface.”

He refused, however, to declare victory until the well is permanently sealed.

Source: SGGP

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BP begins crucial well ‘kill’ in Gulf of Mexico

In Uncategorized on August 4, 2010 at 7:19 am

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) – BP began operations to permanently plug the runaway well that has brought environmental and economic ruin to the Gulf of Mexico and spilled more oil into the sea than ever before.

Ships work near the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. AFP

Engineers launched their long-awaited static kill at 2000 GMT Tuesday, ramming heavy fluid into the blown-out Macondo well to force the crude back down into a reservoir almost 3.5 miles (5.7 kilometers) beneath the surface of the sea.


BP was optimistic after conducting “text-book” tests that showed the oil could be subdued, though senior vice president Kent Wells said it was too early to know if the process would take hours or days.


Once the heavy drilling fluid, known as mud, is holding down the oil, the aim is to pour in a cement plug that will permanently seal off the reservoir.


Any leaks in the steel casing of the well would complicate matters as it would mean the area between the pipe and the outer well bore, known as the annulus, would also have to be filled up with mud.


The best case scenario could see the well put permanently out of action by Wednesday, although a “bottom kill” will be performed through a relief well in mid-August to cement in the outer well bore and be certain of success.


If the well casing has leaks, a decision could be taken to hold off on the cement job until the relief well is ready.


“We’re so early in the process there’s no way for me to give you any early indication. The only thing I would say is the injectivity test went well and so that gives us the encouragement,” said Wells.


Thad Allen, the US government point man in the disaster, was emphatic that the static kill “will increase the probability that the relief well will work.” In the long run, “drilling into the annulus and into the casing pipe from below, filling that with mud and then filling that with cement is the only solution to the end of this,” he told reporters.


The extent of the spill was confirmed when US government experts on Monday announced that the oil had been pouring out at a rate of 62,000 barrels a day — more than 12 times faster than BP originally admitted.


This was also higher than any previous official estimate, and meant 4.9 million barrels of crude — more than 205 million gallons — spewed into the Gulf in the 87 days it took to cap it, making it the biggest maritime spill ever.


If BP is found guilty of negligence, the flow rate means it could face up to 17.6 billion dollars in fines. The firm has also set up a 20 billion dollar fund to pay claims from individuals and businesses hit by the disaster.


Shutting the well will bring some relief to coastal residents who have been uncertain about their future and frustrated at the cleanup effort since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April and sank to the bottom of the Gulf.


The full economic and environmental cost of the spill will remain unknown for some time, but a hint of what is to come was found in a report out Tuesday by researchers at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University.


Of 1,200 coastal Gulf coast residents the researchers surveyed last month, 40 percent said they had been directly exposed to the spill, a third said it had affected their kids, and 20 percent said it had hit their wallets.


Parents reported that their children had developed mental, behavioral or physical problems — everything from respiratory problems and rashes to feelings of sadness or nervousness, difficulty socializing with other children, or trouble getting to sleep.


One in five residents told the Columbia researchers that their household income had fallen, with poor residents — those who earned less than 25,000 dollars a year — feeling the pinch more than the better-off.


While there is hope that Louisiana’s marshes and fragile wetlands may recover relatively quickly, no one knows the real spill impact on the Gulf food chain.

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Source: SGGP

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BP gears up for well ‘kill’

In Uncategorized on August 3, 2010 at 7:20 am

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Aug 2, 2010 (AFP) – BP geared up Monday for its long-awaited “static kill,” hoping to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil well and take a major step towards ending the region’s worst ever environmental disaster.


Heavy drilling fluid, known in the trade as “mud,” is to be pumped down into the well on Tuesday morning to shut the giant gusher that has threatened the Gulf’s fishing, tourism and oil industries with financial ruin.


Engineers performed a dry-run of “injectivity tests” on Monday, but BP then said it had to delay the last-minute tests before its kill shot due to a hydraulic leak in the cap sealing the well.

This US Coast Guard handout image shows rigs drilling a relief well and preparing the static kill are seen at the site of the Deepwater Horizon well about 40 miles (64km) from the southern Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico July 31, 2010. AFP

The leak was not expected to significantly delay the planned Tuesday start of the kill operation.


“It is anticipated that the injectivity test and possibly the static kill will take place Tuesday,” BP said in a statement.


Even as authorities aimed to shut down the Macondo well once and for all, they gave a more precise picture Monday of how much crude it spewed, saying it gushed at the rate of 62,000 barrels of oil per day initially — more than 12 times faster than BP had admitted shortly after the blowout in April.


An estimated 4.9 million barrels, more than 205 million gallons, spewed from the ruptured well in the 87 days from the beginning of the disaster until the leak was finally capped on July 15, BP and the US government said in a statement.


Some 800,000 barrels were captured during containment operations, but the 4.1 million uncontained barrels now estimated to have flowed into the water make it the biggest unintentional oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.


The new numbers could play a crucial role in determining how much BP is fined under the Clean Water Act, which allows the US government to seek civil penalties for illegal oil discharges.


Fines under the law range from 1,100 dollars per barrel spilled to as high as 4,300 dollars per barrel spilled, if negligence is proven, meaning BP could theoretically face fines of up to 17.6 billion dollars for the 4.1 million barrels that poured into the sea.


As for shutting down the runaway well, if its integrity is intact it should only be a matter of hours before it becomes evident that the “mud” is successfully pushing the oil back down into the source rock.


“We want to confirm that we can inject the oil that’s in the wellbore back into the reservoir,” BP senior vice president Kent Wells told reporters Monday.


But US spill response chief Thad Allen cautioned that the operation could take several days if the casing of the pipe has a leak through to the outer well bore.


“A decision on whether or not to put cement in after the mud will be completely dependent on the assessment of the integrity of the casing and the well bore,” said Allen.


In addition to the static kill, engineers could also launch a “bottom kill” that would see cement injected into the wellbore through relief wells that would intersect it thousands of feet below the sea floor.


BP says the first of two relief wells will not intercept the stricken well until some time between August 11 and 15, assuming no additional weather or procedural delays.


The Macondo well gushed noxious crude into the sea for nearly three months since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank in April, devastating fragile habitats and bringing misery to many residents along the US Gulf Coast.


While the last surface patches of toxic crude biodegrade rapidly in the warm waters, the long-term impact of the disaster may not be realized for decades.


As the focus shifts to the clean-up of marshes and beaches, so it does to the restoration of the industries devastated by the spill.


And while locals are eager to see the well plugged for good, there are fears that a successful kill operation will prompt a mass exodus of officials brought into the region to respond to the crisis.


BP dismissed its vilified chief executive Tony Hayward last week, replacing him with an American, Bob Dudley, who has promised not to abandon Gulf residents in their time of need.


Also last week the company posted a quarterly loss of 16.9 billion dollars and set aside 32.2 billion dollars to pay spill costs, including a 20-billion-dollar fund to pay compensation to the battered fishing, oil, and tourism industries.


BP, which leased the rig that exploded April 20, killing 11 workers and triggering the spill, has sought to reassure residents it will remain engaged and work to restore the area.

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Source: SGGP

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Payoff row looms as spill-tainted BP boss set to leave

In Uncategorized on July 27, 2010 at 7:17 am

The expected imminent departure of BP chief executive Tony Hayward threatened to create a new transatlantic row over a payout up to 18.5 million dollars following the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.


News reports said Hayward could be cut loose by the British energy giant as early as Tuesday, when BP announces its quarterly earnings and battles to rebuild its reputation amid the worst environmental disaster in US history.


Hayward, whose leadership and gaffes have undermined the company during the cleanup, could get a payoff and pension package worth around 12 million pounds (14.4 million euros, 18.5 million dollars), The Times and the Financial Times newspapers reported in London.

The expected imminent departure of BP chief executive Tony Hayward threatened to create a new transatlantic row over a payout up to 18.5 million dollars following the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

In Washington, a key Democratic lawmaker called on BP to withhold any big payouts to the chief executive.


“BP should be dedicating its resources to compensating the residents of the Gulf Coast who are the victims of this tragedy, not handing out multi-million-dollar golden parachutes,” Representative Ed Markey said.


“At a time when BP should be devoting every possible resource to ending the spill, cleaning up the Gulf and fully compensating the residents who have had their livelihoods impacted, I find it extremely troubling that BP’s board would consider providing such a large severance package to Mr. Hayward,” he added.


BP has agreed to set up a 20-billion-dollar fund to pay for the Gulf clean-up and compensation, as it works to plug the BP well that ruptured in the April explosion and sinking of its leased Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers.


Hayward has drawn criticism in recent months from US President Barack Obama — who said he would have fired him — and other senior US figures and Gulf residents over his handling of the aftermath of the disaster.


The White House Monday warned BP that any decision to replace Hayward would not change its obligation to clean up the Gulf of Mexico and compensate victims.


BP said however there was no decision on Hayward, whose string of public relations gaffes during the crisis included telling reporters “I want my life back” and joining a yacht race as Gulf residents battled the massive oil spill.


“BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters,” a spokesman for the energy giant said. “Any decisions will be announced as appropriate.”


Hayward’s reported payoff would be the equivalent of one year’s salary plus a guaranteed pension for the 53-year-old who started his career with the firm 28 years ago and took over as chief executive in 2007.


A decision on Hayward’s future is likely ahead of the release of BP’s second-quarter results Tuesday, which are expected to reveal a 30-billion-dollar provision for funding the disaster.


Britain’s Sky News television, citing sources, said Hayward was likely to be proposed for a non-executive role on the board of TNK-BP, a joint venture in Russia.


Meanwhile the BBC said Hayward’s departure would be in October.


He is expected to be replaced by Bob Dudley, who grew up in Mississippi and is now in charge of the oil cleanup operation. BP has said Dudley has a “deep appreciation and affinity for the Gulf Coast.”


Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the US pointman on the crisis, said Monday that efforts to kill the damaged well for good would not likely start before next week.


Originally expected as early as Tuesday, Allen said BP had given a “refined and revised” timeline as it redeployed vessels and personnel following a recent storm in the region.

Even if BP then manages to kill the well, Allen warned there was “the possibility that shore will be impacted I guess for the next four to six weeks.”

The ruptured wellhead was sealed on July 15 with a giant cap, which for the first time in three months halted the flow of oil into the sea. But up to four million barrels (170 million gallons) of crude is already estimated to have spewed into the Gulf.

Toxic crude has washed up on the shores of all five US states on the Gulf Coast and vital tourism, fishing and oil industries in the region have been hit hard.

BP faces hundreds of pending lawsuits into the cause of the April 20 rig blast that should determine eventual liability.

Source: SGGP

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No final decision on change of management: BP

In Uncategorized on July 26, 2010 at 3:18 pm

LONDON, July 26, 2010 (AFP) – BP said Monday no final decision has been reached on a change of management, after reports claimed chief executive Tony Hayward would resign in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

This still image from a live BP video feed shows a submersible(not seen) checking the integrity of the well head on July 25, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. AFP

The British energy giant said it noted “the press speculation over the weekend regarding potential changes to management” as well as the charge for the costs of the spill.


“BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters,” the company statement said.


It added that the board was meeting Monday evening ahead of the release of second quarter results on Tuesday.


“Any decisions will be announced as appropriate,” it said.

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Source: SGGP