oil spill

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BP Oil Rig Had Months of Safety Worries

Well was fraught with problems going back to June 2009

(Newser) - Most of us just woke up one April day to the news that an oil rig had exploded in the Gulf, but BP knew of safety concerns at least 10 months before that, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The highlights:
  • In June 2009, BP engineers worried
...

BP Turns to Containment Valve
 BP Turns to Containment Valve  
May 30, 2010 5:56 AM CDT

BP Turns to Containment Valve

Experts think containment valve might make things worse

(Newser) - BP is hurriedly devising yet another mix of risky undersea robot maneuvers and containment devices to fight the worst oil spill in US history, after the most ambitious bid yet to stop the Gulf of Mexico gusher ended in failure. Now, BP hopes to saw through a pipe leading out...

BP Deserves Our Praise

 BP Deserves 
 Our Praise 
OPINION
May 28, 2010 10:26 AM CDT

BP Deserves Our Praise

Oil giant has actually responded pretty splendidly to crisis

(Newser) - Sure, it's easy to beat up on BP, which is ultimately responsible for a disaster that killed 11 people and is laying waste to the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem. But "my purpose today is not to bury BP but to praise it," writes Steven Pearlstein of the Washington ...

Top Kill Working for Now (Again)

'Junk shot' has also been deployed

(Newser) - BP has fired off its “junk shot” and resumed pumping heavy fluid into the spewing Deepwater Horizon well, which appears to have staunched the flow of oil, Adm. Thad Allen, who's in charge of overseeing the spill for the Coast Guard, said today on Good Morning America, though he...

New, Giant Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists believe cleanup chemicals to blame

(Newser) - Just when the Gulf of Mexico thought the hurting had stopped, marine scientists have discovered a huge new undersea oil cloud drifting toward Alabama. Hydrocarbon readings confirm that the plume, which starts near the blown-out well and is 6 miles wide and 22 miles long, is not naturally occurring. It's...

Obama Fires Head of Minerals Management Service

Elizabeth Birnbaum's head rolls thanks to BP oil spill

(Newser) - Democratic sources say the Obama administration has fired the head of the US Minerals Management Service in response to blistering criticism over lax oversight of offshore drilling. President Obama will announce the firing later today, the sources say. Elizabeth "Liz" Birnbaum had run the service in the Interior Department...

'Top Kill' Stops Oil Flow Into Gulf

But Coast Guard won't call it a success until the cement is in

(Newser) - BP's “top kill” plan has at least temporarily stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard admiral in charge of overseeing the spill said this morning. The drilling fluid engineers pumped into the pipe yesterday has blocked all oil and gas from the well,...

BP Cut Corners on Well Casing
 BP Cut Corners on Well Casing 
May 27, 2010 6:55 AM CDT

BP Cut Corners on Well Casing

Went with riskier option because it was cheaper

(Newser) - First rule of business, kids: cut costs where you can. For example, if you can buy a cheaper cement for the casing pipe in your oil well, and the only risk is that it might fail to seal, let gas leak in, and lead to a massive explosion, you should...

Spill Exacts Horrific Toll on Wildlife

Scientists warn of worst-case scenario as oil soaks La. marshes

(Newser) - As oil washes into Louisiana's marshes, the Gulf leak is starting to look more like a "real oil spill"—with all the horrific damage to wildlife that entails, scientists say. Hundreds of dead, oil-soaked birds have been found on the Louisiana coast, along with dozens of dead turtles...

Fake BP Twitter Feed More Popular Than Real One

And a lot funnier

(Newser) - In the last few days, @BPGlobalPR has become something of a Twitter phenomenon, wracking up 44,000 followers, but BP's PR guys aren't too happy about it. Because, as will become instantly apparent to anyone who reads it, @BPGlobalPR isn't actually the oil giant's Twitter handle. It's a gag account,...

Oil Spill Gives Bobby Jindal a 2nd Chance

By criticizing cleanup, governor regains footing

(Newser) - Bobby Jindal, last seen spectacularly botching his response to an Obama speech last year, may have resurrected his political career thanks to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. The Louisiana governor has ironically been calling for a bigger government response, and criticizing BP's slow, incompetent efforts to fix the leak. In the...

Carville to Obama: 'Get Down Here and Take Control!'
 Carville to Obama: 
 'Get Down Here 
 and Take Control!' 
oil spill fallout
May 26, 2010 10:05 AM CDT

Carville to Obama: 'Get Down Here and Take Control!'

The fired-up New Orleans resident makes a plea to Obama

(Newser) - James Carville didn't mince words on Good Morning America today, blasting Obama, again, for his handling of the spill, calling his absence in the region "unbelievable political stupidity." His voice raising to a near-yell (George Stephanopoulos thanks the fired-up Carville for his "passion" at the end of...

Oil Rig Workers Blew Past Red Flags

Equipment showed danger of blowout, but they kept working

(Newser) - Just two hours before the Deepwater Horizon exploded, a major test revealed a “very large abnormality” in the well, but workers simply ignored it and kept working, BP revealed in a report to Congress yesterday. Previously, BP had said the test was inconclusive, the Wall Street Journal notes, but...

BP Caves, Agrees to Show 'Top Kill' Attempt

Obama: 'Plug the damn hole'

(Newser) - BP has bowed to pressure from an increasingly ticked-off White House and reversed an earlier decision to cut off a live video feed as it attempts a top kill maneuver to plug the Gulf oil leak. The company—slammed by lawmakers yesterday after executives said the feed would be cut...

BP: 60%-70% Chance 'Top Kill' Will Work

Oozing oil, not confidence

(Newser) - BP 's " containment dome " plan failed big time, and the oil giant is less than confident as it readies its latest and greatest plan for tomorrow: The "top-kill" maneuver, which Reuters reports the company thinks has a 60%-70% chance of succeeding. Tomorrow BP plans to inject...

Should We Torch the Wetlands?
 Should We Torch the Wetlands? 
May 25, 2010 4:00 AM CDT

Should We Torch the Wetlands?

Controlled burn may be 'least bad' option

(Newser) - There are no good options for dealing with the oil soaking Louisiana wetlands but setting it on fire may be the best of the bad options available, scientists say. A controlled burn in a marsh area soaked in oil during Hurricane Katrina removed around 90% of the oil and allowed...

Gulf Spill Gives Scientists Deja Vu

It's the 1979 Ixtoc spill all over again

(Newser) - The Deepwater Horizon rig wasn't the first to explode and spew oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists are looking back to a 1979 disaster that, they tell the Miami Herald , offers insight into the current disaster. “Everybody keeps saying the spill is unprecedented,” says one geologist. “...

Give BP a Final Chance, Then Obama Must Step In

President not only has authority, he's obligated

(Newser) - In the month-plus since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, BP has downplayed the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf, withheld information, and repeatedly failed to plug the well. The oil giant has one last shot with its "top kill," blogs Andrew Revkin for the New York ...

BP: 'Everyone Is Frustrated' With Spill Failures

Next fix attempt won't come until Wednesday

(Newser) - BP tried to mollify the outraged masses today, sending COO Doug Suttles onto all the major network morning talk shows to apologize for his company's failure to stop the oil flowing into the Gulf. “We are doing everything we can, everything I know,” he said on NBC, adding...

Obama Crew Flouts Own Drilling Ban
Obama Crew Flouts Own Drilling Ban
May 24, 2010 7:58 AM CDT

Obama Crew Flouts Own Drilling Ban

Waivers and permits still flowing, despite 'moratorium'

(Newser) - President Obama declared a moratorium on new oil drilling permits and environmental waivers two weeks ago, but his administration hasn't actually stopped giving out those permits and waivers. Since the May 14 declaration, it has granted at least seven drilling permits and five environmental waivers, the New York Times reports....

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