Admiral Allen Directs BP To Complete Relief Well

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - The Talk Radio News Service

On Friday National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen issued a directive to BP’s incoming Chief Executive Officer, Bob Dudley, authorizing the corporation to move ahead with efforts to complete the relief well that shows promise of putting a final close on the failed deepwater Macondo well, which was responsible for the months-long oil leak that has put petroleum conglomerate BP in the hot seat since the drilling rig exploded in April.

In the directive, Admiral Allen outlined a number of steps to be executed on the well:

1) Evaluate the status of the well’s casing hammer,

2) Secure the hammer with a locking room, assuming the hangar is in nominal position,

3) Commence completion of drilling by Development Driller III to intercept the Macondo well,

4) Conduct any “supporting activities … that are consistent with the relief well intercept,”

5) Develop and implement procedures that will allow for injection of mud and cement into the well’s annulus (space between the well casing and the earth),

6) Consult the Government Scientific Technical Team if the casing hangar is not in a position allowing for installation of a locking ring.

Although only negligible amounts of oil have leaked into the Gulf since a capping stack was installed on top of the crippled blowout preventer in mid July, Allen has repeatedly stated that, “the relief well remains the ultimate step in stopping the BP oil leak for good.”

BP Shrugs Responsibility For Explosion

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - The Talk Radio News Service

In remarks Wednesday after the release of a BP-led investigation into the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April, BP’s incoming chief executive Bob Dudley said, “the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon was a shared responsibility among many entities.”

These claims come in harsh opposition to BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay’s earlier statements - “Liability, blame, fault, put it over here … we are the responsible party.”

According to the investigation - which BP funded, led, and published - the ultimate explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig was the result of a chain of blunders - eight incidents in all. 

First, the cement barrier meant to isolate oil from the annulus (the space between the casing pipe and the surrounding rock) failed to isolate the oil. Then, another measure - called “shoe track barriers” - failed to isolate the oil. 

Negative-pressure testing was somehow accepted, and crews failed to recognize the influx of oil into the wellbore. Safety mechanisms should have then closed the blowout preventer, but instead the oil-mud mixture was diverted into the mud-gas separator, where the gas was vented directly onto the rig. Although a safety mechanism was designed to then prevent ignition, the fire and gas system failed.

All in all, the blowout preventer was ineffective although three separate methods of launching emergency mode were initiated.

NOAA Opens Another 4,000 Square Miles In Gulf

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - the Talk Radio News Service

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reopened over 4,000 square miles of Gulf waters in western Louisiana to recreational and commercial fishing, Friday, according to a press release issued by the Deepwater Horizon Response Joint Command.

No oil has been reported in the area since July 18, excluding a light sheen on July 29, and trajectory models show that no contamination is expected to enter the area.

The NOAA sampled fish and shrimp in the region from July 26 to July 29 and have declared all samples, “well below the levels of concern.” The NOAA will continue to monitor the area for oil, and will conduct fish sampling to and testing to assure that the seafood is safe.

“We have confidence that seafood harvested from this area is free from harmful oil residues and can be enjoyed by consumers around the nation,” said Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Over 48,000 square miles of the Gulf remain closed as the administration works to determine the ecological and health effects of the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the highly criticized heavy use of chemical dispersants following the spill. 

Administration Arranges "Dockside Chats" To Alleviate Gulf Seafood Concerns

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

The Obama administration announced Wednesday that they will soon begin conducting “dockside chats” to inform the public on the safety of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. 

Only a few days after the first official day of the shrimping season in Louisiana, many still fear that Gulf seafood may be unsafe for consumption due to the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which gushed for more than three months and spewed millions of barrels of crude oil into Gulf waters.

The administration has scheduled eight of these chats in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida in order to address these fears and keep the public up-to-date on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) rigorous safety measures to ensure that tainted seafood does not reach consumers.

“We are committed to making sure that Gulf seafood is the safest in the world and to reassuring consumers that Gulf seafood is safe to eat,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said Wednesday.

State and federal teams will meet with commercial fishermen, shrimpers, crabbers, oystermen and local officials to answer questions, discuss concerns and “correct misinformation.” 

Feds Tightening Rules For Deepwater Drilling

Fewer oil companies will qualify for categorical exclusions under the federal government’s continued moratorium on offshore drilling, said U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar yesterday.

“In light of the increasing levels of complexity and risk, and the consequent potential environmental impacts, associated with deepwater drilling, we are taking a fresh look at the [National Environmental Protection Act] process and the types of environmental reviews that should be required for offshore activity,” Salazar said in a statement.

The actions by the government are intended to redress a loose oversight policy that has allowed many large oil companies to circumvent regulations and receive permits to drill in domestic waters.

A new government report indicated that BP, whose Deepwater Horizon well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, killing 11 workers and rupturing a well which spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf for months, directly capitalized on a lax federal review process. The report, published by the White House Council of Environmental Quality, determined that BP was granted permission to drill its deepwater well based on exemptions established by federal regulatory agencies in the 1980’s, several years before the creation of new technologies allowed oil companies to drill a mile below the surface of the ocean.

On Monday, the head of the regulatory agency tasked by President Obama with more or less taking over the job previously performed by the Minerals Management Service (MMS), said increased scrutiny of the oil industry is needed.

“We are building a more robust and aggressive independent oversight agency based on the development of new tools and enhanced legal and regulatory authorities, as well as on the more aggressive use of existing tools,” said Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich.

“These changes in our regulatory framework and approach will serve to hold offshore operators accountable and ensure that the industry and the country are fully prepared to deal with catastrophic blowouts and oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon.”