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BP Oil Spill

Our in-depth coverage of the ongoing BP Oil Spill disaster.

BP Oil Spill Update

In case you haven’t heard, the BP Oil Spill really did happen. Thousands of people are still suffering because of massive amounts of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico. Even though the major news media found the story a bit boring once the leak was actually plugged, it’s important that we continue to keep ourselves updated on what’s going on in the Gulf.

Solutions for Future Spills

Although a moratorium was enacted to disable new deepwater oil rigs, it may be lifted even before we have come up with an actual solution to deepwater oil spills. Exxon Mobil Inc.… Continue reading

BP’s Problems Are More Than 6 Inches Deep

BP keeps shooting itself in the foot with bad decisions and shady practices, even at a time when they have the opportunity to quickly strive for public trust. From its already backed-up victim compensation program to its regulations regarding public beach accessibility, BP continues to try and take blame for the Gulf Oil Spill without actually dealing with the full repercussions.

In a supposedly generous offer by BP, attorney Kenneth Feinberg has decided that BP will not be subtracting the funds paid to BP clean-up crews from their victim compensation for the damages from the spill. In other words, BP… Continue reading

The Well is Dead, but BP (and Oil) Remains

The notorious Gulf oil well is finally dead. On Sunday, Thad Allen announced that the BP oil well, having caused the worst spill in history, was stopped for good on Sunday with a permanent cement plug.

 

 

Once the application of the cement plug was completed, a successful pressure test was also administered and passed.

Although oil remains in the water and continues to wash ashore, residents of the region can rest easier knowing that well is no longer active.

So far, the oil spill has cost BP $9.5 billion in clean up. That number is separate from the… Continue reading

A Threat to Jobs in the Gulf: The Drilling Moratorium

Even though the BP well is planned to be fully plugged sometime on Sunday, disputes over employment loss are just heating up.

 

Beyond the debate amongst major companies like BP and Transocean over who caused the worst oil spill in history, disputes are brewing over employment lost due to the Moratorium put on deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico by the Obama Administration.

A report released Thursday by the Obama Administration states that, although predictions showed between 8,000 and 12,000 jobs lost due to the moratorium, the current evidence shows little, if any, job loss in the region.… Continue reading

BP Blowout Preventer Recovered for Investigation

BP’s defective blowout preventer (BOP) was lifted by crane to the surface over the weekend, but the real work has only just begun.

 

The blowout preventer will be transferred to a NASA facility in Louisiana where it will be dissected and investigated for reasons behind its failure that lead to the worst oil spill in world history.

The device weighs approximately 300 tons, stands about 50 feet high, and took just under 30 hours to lift to the surface.

Deconstructing the blowout preventer will be a hefty task and the investigation could take up to three months. Although corporations, business owners,… Continue reading