Gulf of Mexico

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Obama: Feds Are in Charge of Cleanup

And critics of his Gulf response 'don't know the facts'

(Newser) - President Obama asserted today that the federal government is, and always has been, in charge of Gulf oil cleanup. "Make no mistake: BP is operating at our direction," he said at a news conference, reiterating that the company is responsible for the bill. It's "an unprecedented disaster,...

Toxic Oil Dispersant Rain Could Devastate Coast

Russian scientists project evaporating dispersant collecting in clouds

(Newser) - Russian scientists briefing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are warning that the dispersant used by BP to break up the oil spill in the Gulf could cause a far greater catastrophe than the oil itself. They envision apocalyptic destruction caused by the dispersant "phase shifting" from liquid to gas, then...

New Oil Flow Estimate Makes Gulf Spill Nation's Worst

At 3.5 times earlier estimates, exceeds Exxon Valdez

(Newser) - New oil flow estimates by scientists studying the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico are more than three times earlier estimates, making the leak the worst in the nation's history. The US Geological Survey director says the results are preliminary, but two teams using different methods determined that the...

BP on 'Top Kill': So Far, So Good (But It's Very Early)

The live feed video probably won't reveal much

(Newser) - And now we wait. BP's chief executive says the "top kill" operation that got under way this afternoon is going as planned, reports the AP . He reiterated it will be at least a day before engineers know whether 50,000 barrels of thick mud on the way will do...

Fishermen Getting Sick in Gulf Cleanup

Lawmaker wants mobile clinics funded by BP

(Newser) - More reports are surfacing about fishermen getting sick while cleaning up the Gulf oil spill, and a Louisiana congressman wants BP to pay for mobile clinics, reports the Los Angeles Times . With the "top kill" strategy under way at the ocean bottom, the fishermen on the surface are complaining...

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan
 BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan  
May 26, 2010 1:34 PM CDT

BP Begins 'Top Kill' Plan

They hope to plug well with mud and cement

(Newser) - The "top kill" is under way. BP has begun pumping heavy mud into the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to seal it. Cement will follow. The top kill has never before been tried a mile beneath the sea, and company officials say it could...

Obama Going to Gulf Coast Friday

President will review oil spill cleanup as frustration mounts

(Newser) - The political pressure and frustration mounts: President Obama will head back to Louisiana on Friday to review efforts to stop the Gulf oil spill. The White House did not yet release details of exactly where Obama will go, but he will spend most of the day there. As impatience grows...

Feds Won't Replace BP: Cleanup Point Man

Coast Guard admiral defends oil company's efforts

(Newser) - BP is "exhausting every technical means possible" in cleanup of the Gulf oil spill, and the federal government has no plans to take over the project from the oil company, the administration's chief contact for the disaster said this afternoon. Adm. Thad Allen didn't join the chorus of frustration...

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 ...

Frustrated Salazar: 'We'll Push BP Out of the Way'

Interior secretary talks tough during visit to oil company's HQ

(Newser) - As the Obama administration ramps up its response to the Gulf oil disaster, the interior secretary visited BP's Houston headquarters today and blasted the company for missing "deadline after deadline" in the cleanup effort. "There's no question BP is throwing everything at this problem," Ken Salazar acknowledged....

Obama Deploys Top Aides to Gulf

EPA's Jackson, Salazar, Napolitano will monitor response

(Newser) - Three top Obama administration officials are returning to the Gulf Coast to monitor the massive oil spill that seems to have no end in sight, as frustration with the response to the spill threatens to boil over. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson was headed today to Louisiana, where she...

EPA Considers Cutting All Contracts With BP

Move would cost the company billions of dollars

(Newser) - News to cheer those who say the government has gone too easy on BP: The EPA is considering scrapping its federal contracts, a move that would cost the company billions, reports Pro Publica . It's far from a done deal, and any such action would depend on the results of the...

BP Concedes 5,000-Barrel Estimate Too Low
 BP Concedes 
 5,000-Barrel 
 Estimate Too Low 
new live feed released
May 20, 2010 2:58 PM CDT

BP Concedes 5,000-Barrel Estimate Too Low

That's how much it's currently cleaning up per day

(Newser) - BP says it's now scooping up 5,000 barrels a day of gushing oil, so we must be in the clear right? After all, that's been the company's daily estimate all along. Alas, "it was always made clear that this was a ballpark estimate," said a BP official....

BP Looks for Help, Turns to ... Kevin Costner?

Actor's company has an oil-sucking machine

(Newser) - It's Kevin Costner to the rescue in the Gulf: BP has agreed to test a contraption funded by the actor to suck oil out of the water. "It's like a big vaccum cleaner," said Costner's business partner in Ocean Therapy Solutions. Costner got interested in the subject around...

US Expands No-Fishing Area in Gulf

45,728 square miles now closed

(Newser) - The US today expanded the area around the Gulf oil spill where fishing is banned. The government's oceanic authority ordered 19% of federally controlled waters off-limits for fishing, up from 8% Friday and 10% yesterday. The area closed now covers 45,728 square miles, CNN reports. Meanwhile, three separate Senate...

BP Siphoning 1/5 of Oil; Spill May Have Hit Major Current

Loop current would carry oil to Florida Keys and up coast

(Newser) - BP is now siphoning more than one-fifth of the oil that has been spewing into the Gulf for almost a month, the company said this morning, as worries escalated that the ooze may have reached a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the...

BP Pipe Siphons Some Oil, Dislodges
 BP Pipe Siphons 
 Some Oil, Dislodges 
UPDATED
May 16, 2010 12:40 PM CDT

BP Pipe Siphons Some Oil, Dislodges

Engineers trying to get pipe to work again

(Newser) - BP says engineers trying to stop an oil leak deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico used a mile-long tube to funnel some oil to the surface, but that it became dislodged. In a news release, BP says it halted the process early today, but that some of the oil and...

BP: The Tube Is In


 BP: The Tube Is In 
May 16, 2010 11:19 AM CDT

BP: The Tube Is In

Oil giant hopes to siphon large part of gushing oil

(Newser) - BP has successfully inserted a pipe into the blown-out Deepwater Horizon well, a source confirmed to the Wall Street Journal , raising hopes that a majority of the leak could be siphoned up to a ship on the surface. A BP spokesman declined comment.

BP: Pipe Will Stem Oil Flow
 BP: Pipe Will Stem Oil Flow  
May 16, 2010 6:33 AM CDT

BP: Pipe Will Stem Oil Flow

But company's still jiggering its latest experiment

(Newser) - BP hit a snag yesterday in its effort to reduce the amount of oil blasting from the remains of a broken rig into the Gulf of Mexico. BP said it was confident that its mile-long pipe would capture much of the oil flow, but engineers failed to connect two pieces...

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