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03 Mar 2012 11:15

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U.S.: BP reaches massive settlement with Gulf of Mexico investors

  • $7.8B will be paid by BP to thousands affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that occurred in April 2010; the settlement doesn’t bring an end to the oil company’s legal troubles
  • $2.3B of the total settlement will go to the Gulf seafood industry alone; the company also faces separate spill-related legal actions from the governments of Louisiana and Alabama
  • $17B in additional fines could come as the result of a settlement with the US government over civilian fines resulting from the wide-reaching spill, if BP is found guilty of gross negligence source
  • » But are the fines enough to teach BP a lesson? Some say no, including shrimp producer Dean Blanchard, who told The Guardian, “I want my day in court. If they can get off with just paying the money — well, they’ve got plenty of money, they are not really going to learn a lesson.” In addition to the settlement, BP announced that it would use the remainder of the $20 billion compensation fund it raised during the summer of 2010 to settle additional complaints from residents and businesses in the region. In a statement released late Friday night, BP chief executive Bob Dudley said, “the proposed settlement represents significant progress toward resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast.”

29 Dec 2011 15:02

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U.S.: Federal prosecutors preparing case against BP

  • The oil spill examined: The first criminal charges to be filed against BP, regarding the explosion and subsequent oil leak at the Deepwater Horizon well, are being prepared by federal prosecutors. The charges, to come out next year, are expected to center on a group of engineers and whether false or misleading information about the safety of drilling at such deep depths in the Gulf of Mexico was submitted on federal documents. The spill in totality is very relevant right now — a couple months ago, the Obama administration approved BP for more drilling in the Gulf, despite no changes to spill-related financial liability laws. (Photo courtesy of ideum) source

24 Mar 2011 02:00

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U.S.: Gulf Oil Spill: Who is Jennifer Rexford? Why you should find out

  • This is very disturbing, and very unreported: Have you heard about the plight of Jennifer Rexford? The Gulf resident and BP cleanup worker has been documenting on YouTube and Twitter the health issues she and others have faced in the wake of the Gulf Oil Spill. (There haven’t been any updates in about two weeks … given her health issues, we hope everything’s OK.) She’s having trouble getting any sort of financial help. Plus, she says she’s not alone, and that others are in the same situation as she is. Very disturbing. Very eye-opening. Also worth watching? The story of Paul Doom, a twentysomething Florida resident who was planning on going into the Marines, but instead became paralyzed after swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The two have only gotten limited press coverage. What’s going on? We want some answers. Not just studies. (Thank you definitelynotcanon – sincerely! This story needs our attention.) source

07 Feb 2011 22:33

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U.S.: The downside of placing a moratorium on deepwater drilling

  • 8,000 jobs lost due to recent oil drilling restrictions source

05 Nov 2010 21:54

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U.S.: Depressing proof of Gulf Oil Spill’s ecological destruction, right here

  • “I think we have the smoking gun.” The Gulf Oil Spill hasn’t been in the news too much lately, but we’ve been making an effort to post about it as often as we find stuff. In this case, a bunch of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers happened to find evidence of environmental damage caused specifically by the Deepwater Horizon crapfest. See that thing wrapped around those ugly, blackened branches of coral? That’s a starfish. (In case you’re curious, you can find more photos from the research right here.) source

02 Nov 2010 10:29

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Biz: BP somehow posts profit, despite massive Gulf Oil Spill cost

  • $40
    bilion
    the amount BP has set aside for paying for this oil spill (over two separate quarters) – bigger than many countries’ GDP
  • $1.79
    billion
    the company’s profit third-quarter profit, despite a $7.7 billion spill-related charge – it’s insanely impressive they have one at all source

29 Oct 2010 16:36

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Biz, U.S.: Here comes the denial: Halliburton sez they didn’t cause oil spill

  • Halliburton does not believe that the foam cement design used on the Macondo well was the cause of the incident.
  • A statement from Halliburton • Responding to the Senate committee report that suggested that their handiwork was a cause of the Gulf Oil Spill. Their take? While Halliburton admits that they didn’t do a key stability test, BP was to blame for a poor design process (an angle they’ve held onto since the spill first happened). And, worse, BP didn’t perform a critical cement bond log test. Also, both BP and Transocean misinterpreted the results of a negative pressure test – a misinterpretation that proved deadly for the workers on the rig. There are a lot of complicated details here, but the point you should take from this is that everyone is blaming everyone else. Which is understandable. Have you seen the rage caused by this oil spill? source
 

28 Oct 2010 21:23

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Biz, U.S.: BP and Halliburton make stupid mistake, punish the entire Gulf

  • The fact that BP and Halliburton knew this cement job could fail only solidifies their liability and responsibility for this disaster. We now know what BP and Halliburton knew, and when they knew it. And now we know they did absolutely nothing about it.
  • Rep. Edward J. Markey • Sounding incredibly pissed (for understandable reasons) about the whole situation with the Gulf Oil Spill. Why, you ask? Well, it seems our friends at both BP and Halliburton knew weeks before that the cement mixture they were using to seal the well was unstable and didn’t work particularly well. But, in a brilliant decision which had amazing effects on the Gulf region, they used it anyway. And by “brilliant” we mean awful. And by “amazing” we me disastrous. Heckuva job, BP and Halliburton. Heckuva job. source

24 Oct 2010 11:48

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U.S.: Remnants of Gulf Oil Spill (remember that?) still hanging around

  • Fun fact about the Gulf Oil Spill: A few days ago, the federal government said there were only a few “trouble spots” where oil was still hanging around. Strangely enough, this photo of a miles-long oil spot was taken after they said that. Wonder what happened. source

08 Sep 2010 11:07

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U.S.: Gulf oil spill: BP tries to shift some of the blame with report

  • The company just released a 193-page report on the spill. Claiming “a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces,” BP’s new report tries to spread the blame in a number of places, noting some design flaws but also focusing more on the cement job on the well (done by Haliburton) and failings of the workers on the rig (who were Transocean employees) and trying not to shoulder all the blame themselves. Consider the report an attempt at shoring up PR and a preview of future court cases. source