BP Pleads Guilty to 11 Felonies and Agrees to Pay $4.5 Billion to Settle Criminal Case on Deepwater Horizon Tragedy

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 platform workers and resulting in the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. Today BP, the … Continue reading

Deepwater Horizon, Two New Reports – BP & Transocean Failure at Spill Prevention & Dead Dolphins

Two recent reports look at the actions and inaction of BP and its contractor Transocean before the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the consequences of the resulting spill on the environment.  The explosion on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon killed 11 and … Continue reading

Semi-Submersible Drilling Rig, Transocean Marianas, Evacuated off Ghana

The semi-submersible drilling rig, Transocean Marianas, was preparing to move to a new location off the coast of Ghana when the rig developed a serious list and was in danger of sinking.  The rig, under contract to Italian oil company Eni, … Continue reading

BP Oil Spill – One Year Later, Some Good News and Lots of Bad

There appears to be both good and bad news exactly one year after the explosion and fire that sank the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, killing eleven, and triggering the largest  accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum … Continue reading

First Permit to Restart Deep Water Drilling

Yesterday we reviewed John Konrad’s new book, Fire on the Horizon:  The Untold Story of the Gulf Oil Disaster, which went on sale in bookstores today.   Coincidentally,  yesterday the Interior Department approved the first new deep water drilling permit in the Gulf … Continue reading

BP Kept Drilling Despite Leaks in Blowout Preventer Control Pod & Bypassed Alarms

There is reported stonewalling by witnesses who have cancelled their scheduled testimonies at the ongoing investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.  Nevertheless,  startling testimony was presented this Tuesday: A BP official, Ronald Sepulvado, a well-site leader, testified that BP continued drilling for oil … Continue reading

Fire in Tampa, Lightning in the Gulf and the Battleship Texas Still Afloat

Busy days in the Gulf of Mexico.  On the surface above the continuing Deepwater Horizon disaster yesterday, a drill  ship attempting to contain the oil was struck by lightning and caught on fire shutting down containment operations.  Reportedly, operations resumed today.   BP: Oil … Continue reading

Pelicans, Back From Brink of Extinction, Face Oil Threat

Though the pelican is featured on the state flag, by the early 1960s, brown pelicans had been pushed to extinction along the Louisiana Gulf Coast by DDT and other pesticides. In 1968 pelicans were reintroduction to Louisiana from colonies in … Continue reading