Static Kill A Success, According to Officials

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

“Static kill,” an attempt by the Joint Oil Spill Response Team to plug the Macondo deepwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, has effectively stopped the leak, according to Admiral Thad Allen, the National Incident Commander.

“We now have equalized … the hydrostatic pressure of the seawater with the pressure inside the capping stack,” said Allen during a press briefing at the White House Wednesday. Allen added that he is confident, “that there will be no oil leaking into the environment.”

“We have significantly improved our chances to finally kill the well with the relief wells,” Allen said.

BP released a statement earlier in the day calling the success, “a significant milestone.”

Although the mile-deep well off the coast of Louisiana has not leaked a significant amount of oil in almost three weeks, thanks to a “stacking cap” that was placed on the leak on July 15th, many are elated that the response command has made such a crucial step in sealing the well off for good.  President Obama told a conference of AFL-CIO union leaders in Washington on Wednesday, “The long battle to stop the leak and contain the oil is finally close to coming to an end.”

The static kill began as a series of tests Tuesday afternoon, with heavy drilling mud being pumped from about 3 pm CDT until 11 pm CDT through a maze of equipment until the pressure inside the well equalized with the pressure on the sea floor, according to a statement by BP.

Workers are attempting to determine whether to follow the mud with a concrete cap for added security, or to simply move ahead with the relief wells. Either way, Allen told reporters, the next step is to complete the relief wells, as the static kill is only the preliminary portion of the final end to the leak. 

“This job will not be complete until we finish the relief well,” said Allen. 

Static Kill Moved Back To Late Monday, Early Tuesday; Allen Defends Dispersant Regulation

by Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen briefed reporters Sunday afternoon in his daily update on the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill, providing details about the upcoming “static kill” effort and addressing fears over dispersants.

The discovery of some forty feet of debris in a relief well stifled hopes that the joint disaster response team could have been able to begin the “static kill” Sunday or early Monday. 

“The entire casing is clean … they will start cementing the casing in place, probably about four or five hours from now. Following that, we will be in a position to start with the static kill as early as [Monday] night or into Tuesday,” said the administration’s point man on the spill response.

Allen continued that the “bottom kill” will begin five to seven days “minimum” after this attempt. The former Coast Guard official sent a reminder that, “the static kill is not the end-all be-all.” Although the well has not leaked a significant amount of oil in some two weeks, Admiral Allen will not consider the leak plugged until the “bottom kill” has been completed.

The US Coast Guard has been attracting criticism recently over their regulation of BP’s use of chemical dispersants in the Gulf over the past three months.  Although the Coast Guard had promised to cut back dispersant use by 75% and heavily regulate their use to extreme circumstances, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) released a letter Friday, claiming that the Coast Guard had granted BP permission to use high levels of dispersants 64 times in a 48-day period.

“These exemptions are in no way a ‘rare’ occurrence,” said Markey in a letter to Allen on July 30th. The Representative questioned, “whether the Coast Guard made sufficient efforts to verify the information BP provided in support of its requests, and whether it exercised appropriate oversight surrounding the use of these toxic chemicals.”

Allen responded to criticism with a statement that decisions to allow the use of chemical dispersants are made by the Federal On Scene Coordinator, and are “closely supervised.”

“Sometimes there is no other way to attack the oil - they had to use dispersants,” said Allen; “I’m satisfied that we only use them when they’re needed”

Thad Allen Meets With Gulf Leaders

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen spent Thursday morning with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Parish presidents from the Gulf region.

Speaking with reporters, the former Coast Guard official explained that the leaders had discussed and agreed upon three major issues: “to assess how we can move forward from response to recovery,” and to refine the team’s hurricane preparedness plans following Tropical Storm Bonnie in such a way that the command will be able to respond to more varied degrees of storm systems, and to develop a “joint vessel of opportunity employment plan,” said Allen.

“Vessels of opportunity” are generally local commercial boats that have been put out of work by the spill, and subsequently employed by the response team, explained Allen.  Unfortunately, the joint command will need to move to employing more specialized contractors in the near future, leaving many of these vessels out of work yet again.

The meeting also provided leaders the opportunity to voice their concerns over the large amount of boom that has yet to be deployed, which could end up further harming marshlands if not removed before any intense storm, explained Allen.

Allen further reported that BP’s next attempt to stop the leak, known as the “static kill,” may be implemented sooner than Monday, as authorities had initially expected. The static kill is similar to the top kill method, which BP had attempted but failed to implement earlier in the leak, but has a better chance of success, say authorities, due to the reduced pressure of the leak and the engineering of the “stacking cap” that is now keeping the leak contained.

BP Claims In Lockerbie Bomber Release Incredulous Says Sen. Menendez

Two US Senators are again calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the release of convicted Libyan terrorist Abdel Basset Al Megrahi.

Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined family members of victims of the Lockerbie bomber at a news conference in Times Square today and questioned the medical pretext for sending Al Megrahi back to Libya from prison in Scotland last August.
 
Gillibrand said the fact Al Megrahi remains in relative good health, continues to live freely and was greeted has a hero upon his return to Libya is unacceptable and requires a full and transparent investigation.
 
Al Megrahi was the only suspect convicted  for the 1988 bombing of Panam 103 flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270, more than half of whom were American.

Al Megrahi was said to be suffering from terminal prostate cancer, when Scotland released him for a return to Libya  on humanitarian grounds in August, 2009. A British cancer expert who examined Al Megrahi at the request of Libyan government initially gave him three months to live but now says he could live 10 to 20 more years. At the time, family members of the victims as well several American and British politicians publicly condemned the move and suggested BP had been  lobbying for his release. Now Al Megrahi’s continued good health and BP’s disastrous handling of the Gulf Oil spill have reignited debate.
 
Senator Menedez says BP CEO Tony Hayward’s possible departure does not change the importance of his testimony before the Senate Foreign Policy Commitee. Hayward and BP have still not given an answer as to whether they will appear, while former British Justice Minister Jack Straw, Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill and  Dr. Andrew Fraser have already declined.
 
“It is my hope that all of the parties that we have asked to appear will commit to appearing this Thursday” said Menendez, also noting he would be in favor of issuing subpeonas if Hayward and others do not voluntarily testify, but the decision to subpoena witnesses was up to the Chairman of the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry.

Staffers for the Senators circulated copies of a letter that surfaced in September of 2009 from British House of Lords member and Chairman of the Libyan British Business Council( LBBC) Lord Trefgarne addressed to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. 

In it, Trefgarne asks MacAskill to bring the Megrahi matter to a “swift and “satisfactory conclusion” and warns of the risks it could pose to ties between both countries.

“The Libyan authorities have made it clear that should he die in prison in Scotland there will serious implications for UK-Libyan relations. This prospect is of grave concern to LBBC members, not just Scottish ones.” wrote Lord Trefgarne, a few sentences later suggesting Megrahi’s situation was “tailor made” for Release on Licence on Compassionate Grounds.
 
BP officials have already stated that they did lobby for a prisoner transfer agreement but not specifically for Al Megrahi, a claim Senator Menendez doubts.
 
“I think its a little incredulous, and I say that simply because Al Megrahi clearly was the one prisonner in custody of  the British/Scottish government that meant something to them. This advocacy by the British Libyan Business Group which BP was part of , clearly, when you talk about the concern about Libyan relations, what was at the forefront of Libyan relations at the time was the 900 million dollar deal. So I think it stretches the imagination not to believe that Al Megrahi was the focal point of what BP was trying to achieve in order to be able to make sure that those relationships were calm. ” said Menedez.

Spill Response Team Preparing For Tropical Storm

by Miles Wolf Tamboli

Tropical storm Bonnie is currently approaching the Gulf of Mexico, at about 18 miles per hour, and according to experts, seems to be headed straight toward the Northernmost region of the Gulf, which has been most affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  Although the storm is not expected to grow in intensity, it will be nearing the Macondo well in the next two days, and  the Deepwater Horizon Response Joint Command is readying operations in the Gulf.

Incident Commander Admiral for the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill Thad Allen held a briefing in New Orleans Friday to provide an update on the preparations currently being made.

“The intention right now is to put the vessels in a safe place so they can return as quickly as possible to resume their operations,” said Allen.  The two rigs drilling the relief wells, which could bring a conclusive end to the spill in the near future, have been detached from their drill sites and will soon be moved out of harm’s way.

Allen described that although the Joint Command is unsure, as of yet, whether they will need to leave the site, crucial surveillance and safety technology will continue monitoring the area for any anomalies, and added, “if we have to evacuate the scene we’re probably looking at a very limited window, something around 48 hours.”

Many question the effect a storm could have on the surface oil in the Gulf, and the former Coast Guard official remarked that the storm may, in fact, “help as the emulsification of the oil and the, and the distribution and biodegradation of the oil,” due to increased surface activity.  

“On the other hand, you have the chance to have a storm surge drive that up into beach and marsh areas where it would not have been driven otherwise,” Allen continued, adding that the response team is prepared to step up its cleanup efforts.

“We would like to get back on team and restart the activity as soon as we can,” Allen added.