THE GULF
U.S. Gulf Oil Lease Sale Attracts 241 Bids From 20 Companies
"The first lease sale for oil production in the Gulf of Mexico since BP Plc's 2010 spill attracted 241 bids from 20 companies, the Interior Department said as an environmental group sought to block the auction."
Gulf Offshore Drilling Leases Auction Challenged By Environmentalists
"The suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington claims that the federal government failed to take steps to avoid a repeat of BP's disastrous oil spill in 2010, which leaked more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The suit was filed by Oceana, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity."
Deepwater Horizon Committee Issues Final Report
BP Oil Spill Shows Blowout Systems Need Redesign, Panel Says
"The U.S. government and the energy industry had "misplaced trust" in the ability of blowout preventers to act as fail-safe mechanisms, a committee of the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council said in a report today. The 57 foot (17 meter) valve systems, which stand atop deep-water wells, weren't designed or tested for the conditions that existed when the Macondo well exploded, the report found."
NAE: Flawed decisions, poor oversight led to 2010 oil spill
"A series of flawed decisions by companies working on BP's failed Macondo well, poor oversight by federal regulators and a "misplaced trust" in emergency equipment guarding the site led to the lethal Deepwater Horizon disaster, the National Academy of Engineering concluded today."
