GULF OIL DISASTER

BP Oil-Collection Rate Continues To Creep Higher

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100618-711771.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines

BP's increased capacity to handle oil, next steps

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1814766320100618

Coast Guard ramps up efforts to capture oil closer to the shore in the Gulf of Mexico

http://www.todayonline.com/BreakingNews/EDC100618-0000306/Coast-Guard-ramps-up-efforts-to-capture-oil-closer-to-the-shore-in-the-Gulf-of-Mexico

Relief well ahead of schedule; August completion expected

http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/5043134068/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/hse/2010/06/relief-well_ahead/QP129867/cmpid=EnlDailyJune182010.html

“The relief well being drilled by the Development Driller III has reached 15,936 ft of its 18,000-ft target, Kent Wells, senior vice-president of exploration and production, told reporters during a June 18 technical briefing from BP’s west Houston offices. Wells believes the relief well already is within 200 ft of the Macondo well, but the pace will slow as the relief well finds and closes in on the Macondo well, he said. […] the scheduled completion of at least one of the two relief wells remains sometime in August.”

Also see: Crews drill deep into Gulf of Mexico to halt leak and For the Crew of a Drill Ship, a Routine Task, a Far-From-Routine Goal

BP estimates of Gulf oil spill range up to 100,000 bpd

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/06/21/10/bp-estimates-gulf-oil-spill-range-100000-bpd

“A BP spokesman, Toby Odone, said the document containing the flow estimate appeared to be genuine but the worst-case scenario applied only to a situation in which a key piece of equipment called a blowout preventer is removed.”

Deepwater Horizon: the worst-case scenario

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/53168

Caution - Don’t read without a having supply of tranquilizers handy.

Anadarko Says BP Should Pay After Being Reckless

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-19/anadarko-says-bp-should-pay-after-being-reckless-update1-.html

Another oil company throws BP under the bus.

Regulators Failed to Address Risks in Oil Rig Fail-Safe Device

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/us/21blowout.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1277150442-vSo81klz8BsdpPQTSXEPcA

This article contains a detailed account of the steps (and mis-steps) leading to the disaster.

BP Relied on Cheaper Wells

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704289504575313010283981200.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADSecondNewsCollection

“In recent years, oil giant BP PLC used a well design that has been called "risky" by Congressional investigators in more than one out of three of its deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico, significantly more often than most peers,…”

Explaining the equation behind the oil spill disaster

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/60369/title/Explaining_the_equation_behind_the_oil_spill_disaster

“In Australia, I’m working on a challenge that is so like the Deepwater Horizon it’s not funny. The tracks of the Montara blowout [in 2009] are damn near identical to this one. And the American public doesn’t know anything about it. I’ve worked on an Indonesian deepwater development, 10,000 feet deep. That operator, after two years of intense study of the risk involved, said that the reserve remains underdeveloped today because the technology is not there to prevent failures or to mitigate them.”

MMS spells out new safety stipulations for oil drilling operations on the OCS

http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/803073932.shtml

“In addition to the certification requirements, the new MMS stipulations spell out a series of required safety measures. The bulk of these measures relate to a well's blowout preventer, the device that sits at the top of a well to instantly shut the well in if an oil or gas blowout occurs but which spectacularly failed in the case of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. And OCS operators who were using a blowout preventer on May 27 must report to MMS by June 17 certain specified information about the blowout preventer configuration, blowout preventer test results and any well loss of control events. Before conducting any new drilling operations from a floating drilling facility an operator must have an independent third party conduct a detailed physical inspection and design review of the well blowout preventer, with the third party inspector submitting a publicly available review report to MMS. A third party must also verify that the design of the blowout preventer is appropriate for the drilling operation; that the blowout preventer has not been damaged from previous service; that any modifications to the blowout preventer would not compromise its design; and that the blowout preventer will operate properly in the conditions in which it would be used.”

Also see: Interior Issues Directive Strengthening Blowout Prevention Requirements for Offshore Oil and Gas Operations

BP, Transocean tap a well of Washington lobbyists and consultants

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/20/AR2010062003168.html

Review of Oil Spill Dispersant Literature

http://cleanthegulfnow.org/archives/review-of-oil-spill-dispersant-literature/

America rethinks its dependence on oil

http://www.smh.com.au/business/america-rethinks-its-dependence-on-oil-20100618-yms4.html

Some Experts Call Oil Drilling Moratorium Misguided (NPR)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127942449

“Arnold says his group is talking with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about making adjustments to the moratorium. "The recommendation that we're trying to make is keep the moratorium in place for certain high-risk wells, but not for other wells," he said. […]Obama has said he would be willing to lift the moratorium in fewer than six months if the commission investigating the blowout determines it can be done safely. Another engineer who reviewed the Interior Department recommendations argues the president's six-month moratorium is absolutely necessary.”

Also see: Ban on Gulf drilling has its foes

La. companies ask judge to end drilling moratorium

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9GFQJPO2

and US Judge To Rule On Temporary Drilling Moratorium By Wed

and Panel Is Unlikely to End Deepwater Drilling Ban Early

US Interior Dept renames offshore drilling agency

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN2126553620100621

“The U.S. Minerals and Management Service, the troubled regulator that has been blamed for failing to adequately police the drilling industry ahead of

the Gulf oil spill, will change its name, the Interior Department said on Monday. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed am order renaming the agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, or the Bureau of Ocean Energy.”

Senior Senate Dem to unveil plan to overhaul offshore drilling

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/104323-senior-senate-dem-to-unveil-plans-to-overhaul-offshore-drilling

Unified Command Framework For Volunteers, Jobs, Vessels of Opportunity;

Qualified Community Responders Programs Supporting Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Florida Peninsula and Keys

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/677375/

WILDLIFE IMPACTS

Oil threatens sperm whales in Gulf

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/18/heenahan.oil.spill.whales/index.html

BP Blocks Attempt to Save Endangered Sea Turtles from Oil Spill (Sea Turtle Restoration Project)

http://www.seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1660

“A shrimp boat captain in Louisiana hired by BP was blocked from rescuing juvenile Kemp's ridleys that were covered in oil in the Gulf waters. He was captured on video saying that the turtles are being collected in the clean-up efforts and burned up like so much ocean debris with other marine life gathering along tide lines where oil also congregates. He witnessed BP workers burning turtles caught in the oil booms.”