BP Oil Spill News
October 1, 2010 - BP Pledges Collateral for Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Trust
BP announced today that it has pledged certain Gulf of Mexico assets as collateral for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust which was set up to pay legitimate claims arising from the April 20 incident.
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September 8, 2010 - Transocean: BP probe 'self-serving' and misleading
Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig leased by oil giant BP, said that BP's internal investigation into the explosion and massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill had covered up the critical factor leading to the incident: the design of the well.
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September 8, 2010 - BP Releases Report on Causes of Gulf of Mexico Tragedy
No single factor caused the Macondo well tragedy. Rather, a sequence of failures involving a number of different parties led to the explosion and fire which killed 11 people and caused widespread pollution in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year.
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August 20, 2010 - BP accounced their pressure test was successful
Under the guidance and approval of the National Incident Commander (NIC) and Unified Area Command, BP has been authorized to begin open water fishing operations from the MC252 Blow Out Preventer (BOP).
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August 9, 2010 - BP Forms Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Escrow Trust
BP announced today that it has established a trust and made a $3 billion initial deposit of the previously-announced $20 billion escrow account to pay legitimate claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon incident and the resulting oil and gas spill.
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August 3, 2010 - Oil Well Reaches Static Condition
BP announced today that the oil well appears to have reached a static condition -- a significant milestone. The well pressure is now being controlled by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, which is the desired outcome of the static kill procedure carried out yesterday (US Central time).
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July 27, 2010 - BP CEO Tony Hayward to Step Down
BP today announced that, by mutual agreement with the BP board, Tony Hayward is to step down as group chief executive with effect from October 1, 2010. He will be succeeded as of that date by fellow executive director Robert Dudley.
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July 26, 2010 - BP Continues to Closely Monitor the Well
The DDII drilling rig is moving back into position, and will take steps necessary to reconnect to the second relief well. However, work on the second relief well has been suspended so as not to interfere with the first.
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July 19, 2010 - BP Updated on Oil Well and Clean Up Efforts
BP today provided an update on developments regarding the capping of the well and also provided an update on the oil spill itself.
The pressure inside the well recently has been measured at approximately 6,792 pounds per square inch and continues to rise slowly. As directed by the National Incident Commander, extensive monitoring activities are being carried out around the well site.
As of July 17, 2010 -
Work continues to collect and disperse oil that has reached the surface of the sea, to protect the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico, and to collect and clean up any oil that has reached shore.
Approximately 43,100 personnel, more than 6,470 vessels and dozens of aircraft are engaged in the response effort.
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July 12, 2010 - New Containment Cap In Place
The three ram capping stack was installed on the Deep Water Horizon LMRP at 7 p.m. CDT. The stack completes the installation of the new sealing cap.
Following installation of the capping stack and in line with the procedure approved by the National Incident Commander and Unified Area Command, the well integrity test will begin July 13 on the MC252 well.
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July 6, 2020 - Update on Improvement to Vessels of Opportunity Program
Doug Suttles, Chief Operating Officer of BP Exploration and Production, met with Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) participants to view operations and discuss a number of enhancements made to the VoO program. Through these modifications, the program will more effectively deploy boats to oil recovery activity and better utilize local commercial and charter fishing vessels to advance the effectiveness of the Gulf of Mexico response.
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July 1, 2010 - BP Says It's OK to Talk to the Media
BP today offered additional guidance and clarification to all personnel to ensure that members of the response team – including, but not limited to, all government, BP, and contract personnel – know they are free to talk to the media.
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June 28, 2010 - BP Update on Gulf Coast Oil Spill
BP today provided a gulf oil spill update on developments in the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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June 24, 2010 - Update on Ocean Therapy Solutions
Update from Ocean Therapy Solutions and BP on the ongoing efforts to deploy Ocean Therapy's oil separating centrifuge devices in the Gulf of Mexico to clean up the Horizon oil spill.
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June 23, 2010 - Suspension and Reinstallation of Cap Containment System
This morning, a discharge of liquid was observed from a diverter valve on the drillship Discoverer Enterprise. As a precautionary measure, the containment cap system has been removed off the Deepwater Horizon failed blowout preventer.
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Update: The cap containment system was successfully reinstalled on the Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer. The system resumed collecting oil and gas at 1900 CDT on June 23.
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June 21, 2010 - Subsea Source Control and Containment
Two systems continue to collect oil and gas flowing from the MC252 well and transport them to vessels on the surface. The first is the lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap and a second system is connected directly to the blow-out preventer and carries oil and gas through a manifold and hoses to the Q4000 vessel on the surface.
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June 19, 2010 - BP Claim Payments Exceed $100 Million
BP said today that it has paid $104 million to residents along the Gulf Coast for claims filed as a result of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has issued more than 31,000 checks in the past seven weeks.
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Jun 16, 2010 - BP Establishes $20 Billion Claims Fund
Following a meeting with the President of the United States, the BP Board announces an agreed package of measures to meet its obligations as a responsible party arising from the Deepwater Horizon spill.
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June 14, 2020 - Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response
Preparations for additional planned enhancements to the LMRP cap containment system continue to progress.
The first planned addition, to operate in addition to the LMRP cap system, will take oil and gas from the choke line of the failed Deepwater Horizon blow-out preventer (BOP) through a separate riser to the Q4000 vessel on the surface. Both the oil and gas captured by this additional system are expected to be flared through a specialised clean-burning system. This system is intended to increase the amount of oil and gas that can be captured from the well and is currently anticipated to begin operations in the next few days.
June 10, 2010 - BP Announces Second Block Grants of $25 million
Today BP announced it is providing the States of Alabama, Florida and Mississippi with an additional $25 million grant to continue implementation of the State’s Area Contingency Plan.
June 10, 2010 - Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response
In the first 12 hours of June 9 (midnight to noon), approximately 7,920 barrels of oil were collected and 15.7 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared. On June 8, a total of approximately 15,000 barrels of oil were collected and 29.4 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared.
June 8, 2010 - BP to Donate Net Revenue from MC252 Well Leak to Protect and Rehabilitate Wildlife in Gulf States
As part of its commitment to restore the environment and habitats in the Gulf Coast region, BP today announced that it will donate the net revenue from oil recovered from the MC252 spill to create a new wildlife fund to create, restore, improve and protect wildlife habitat along the coastline of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The creation of this fund is over and above BP’s obligations under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
June 7, 2010 - BP Announces First Payment on Barrier Islands Project for State of Louisiana
As part of the previously announced commitment to fund the entire $360 million cost of six berms in the Louisiana barrier islands project, BP today announced that it will make an immediate payment of $60 million to the State of Louisiana. In a letter to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and as previously announced, BP detailed its plans to make payments in stages based on the project's completion milestones.
June 7, 2010 - Update on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
The lower marine riser package (LMRP) containment cap, installed on June 3, continues to collect oil and gas flowing from the well and transport them to the Discoverer Enterprise drillship on the surface. On June 5, a total of 10,500 barrels of oil was collected and 22 million standard cubic feet of natural gas was flared. From June 3 through June 5, the volume of oil collected was 16,600 barrels and 32.7 million standard cubic feet of natural gas was flared.
Optimization continues and improvement in oil collection is expected over the next several days. It will be a few days before an assessment can be made as to the success of this containment effort.
June 4, 2010 - BP to Pay a Second Month of Loss of Income Claims
Robert, LA (June 4) -- BP said today it will be sending a second advance payment during June to individuals and businesses along the Gulf Coast to compensate for the loss of income or net profit due to the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon Incident in the Gulf of Mexico.
With the second advance payments, BP estimates it will have spent about $84 million for loss of income or net profit through June, based on the claims it has received to date. This number will grow as additional claims are filed.
June 4, 2010 - LMRP Containment Operation Deployed
BP announced today that oil and gas is being received onboard the Discoverer Enterprise following the successful placement of a containment cap on top of the Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer (BOP). This follows the cutting and removal of the riser pipe from the top of the BOP's lower marine riser package (LMRP).
It is expected to take one or more days for flow rates of oil and gas to stabilize and it is not possible at this stage to estimate how much oil and gas will be captured by this containment system.
June 4, 2010 - Chairman and CEO Give Assurance that BP will Meet its Obligations in Gulf of Mexico
BP's Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and Group Chief Executive Tony Hayward told shareholders today that the company's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is their top priority, along with rebuilding trust and confidence in BP and ensuring that such an accident never happens again. Both Svanberg and Hayward expressed their deep regret and sorrow for the tragedy.
Svanberg underscored the company's commitment to mitigating damage from the oil spill. "The Board of BP has been clear from the outset that all resources available to the company should be applied to meeting BP's responsibilities in addressing these events," he said. "The task is by no means complete and we have a long way to go. This is a tough job and Tony and the team continue to work relentlessly. They have all our support."
June 3, 2010 - A message from Tony Hayward
BP Group CEO Tony Hayward outlines the environmental response to the Deepwater Horizon spill.
June 3, 2010 - BP Establishes $360 Million Escrow Account to Immediately Fund Approved Louisiana Barrier Islands Construction
BP today announced that is has established a $360 million escrow account to fund immediately the construction of six sections of Louisiana barrier islands approved by the U.S. government.