THE GULF
Oil companies brace for possible U.S. Gulf storm
"Tropical depression 13, which could become Tropical Storm Lee later on Friday, has already prompted oil and gas producers to shut down platforms and evacuate workers from the offshore oil patch that provides about a third of the nation's oil production and about 12 percent of its natural gas."
Gulf of Mexico Rigs Shut as Storm Builds
"The tropical depression, about 240 miles (385 kilometers) southwest of the Mississippi River mouth, was "nearly stationary," the Miami-based center said in an advisory issued before 2 a.m. East Coast time. It may strengthen into a tropical storm before reaching Louisiana's coast. BP Plc is evacuating all personnel at platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a message on the company's hurricane hot line. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. removed workers from its Gulf facilities and is shutting output at eight operating platforms."
Coast Guard says oil sheen 16 miles northeast of BP well too dispersed to be recovered
"The oil was first spotted by On Wings of Care pilot Bonny Schumaker during a flight over the area on Tuesday. Schumaker reported a 10 mile by 4 mile string of oily sheen and thicker material to the Coast Guard National Response Center the same day."
BP's Destin Gas Pipeline Declares Force Majeure
"BP has declared a force majeure for their Destin natural gas pipeline after the discovery of fluid in high levels at a Mississippi compressor station, affecting all offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico. The 255-mile Destin natural gas pipeline is responsible for delivering up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day in the Gulf of Mexico, and transports to nine major U.S. pipelines from the Gulf and extending further north than Mississippi. "
ALASKA
Are our heads in the sand?
"Now that it is clear that unpreparedness was one of the factors leading to the tragic loss of life and economic and environment impacts from in the Gulf oil blowout, one would think that we would have seen that last of "unlikely to happen" as a prevention strategy. Not so in Alaska. In fact, even as local communities and fish and wildlife populations attempt to recover from the Gulf spill, the Escopeta Oil Company (which recently transported an exploratory drilling platform to northern Cook Inlet) argued in it's oil spill and blowout prevention contingency plan that "the circumstances for such an event are unlikely." Similarly, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently declined to concur with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that the resurgence of exploratory oil drilling is "not likely to effect" declining numbers of Beluga whale in Cook Inlet primarily because of the low probability of a large spill."
CALIFORNIA
Editorial: Senators need to stand up for California's oil spill prevention program
