NIH Receives $10 Million From BP To Research Health Issues

British oil mogul BP, the corporation responsible for the months-long oil spill disaster that has plagued the Gulf Coast since the Deepwater Horizon rig’s explosion on April 20th, announced Tuesday that it will be sending $10 million to the National Institutes of Health to support studies on acute and long term health issues associated with the oil spill.

The funding will go to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, or GRI, a ten year, $500 million research program established by BP and conducted by the NIH, “to better understand and mitigate the environmental and potential health effects of the Gulf spill.”

“BP, in collaboration with the Unified Command, provided task specific training, supplied personal protective equipment and conducted extensive environmental and worker monitoring to protect the health of response workers involved in the cleanup,” said Bob Dudley, CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. “But there is much still to be learned from this incident, and BP is providing this funding to NIH because it is well positioned to assure the quality and the integrity of the independent research process.”

BP Receives Another Bill From Feds

According to the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint information Center, the administration sent a fifth bill to petroleum mogul BP Wednesday to reimburse the government for response costs tied to the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This latest bill - totaling almost $168 million - nearly matches the $222 million already demanded in the first four bills, all of which BP has paid in full. 

As the responsible party, BP will continue to receive invoices from the administration for all costs associated with the response to the months-old oil leaked that has wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast’s fishing, tourism, and oil industries.

White House Officials Meet With BP Execs

The White House released the following statement regarding a meeting that took place earlier today between senior Obama administration officials and executives from BP:

“Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, White House Counsel Robert Bauer, and National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen, joined by other senior administration officials, met with BP executives Bob Dudley and Lamar McKay this afternoon to discuss a range of issues regarding the ongoing clean up and recovery efforts in the Gulf. They impressed upon BP the importance of living up to their commitment to long term recovery, and underscored that the Administration will remain vigilant in ensuring that promise is met. Among a variety of other issues, the administration officials also stressed the need for BP to move quickly to pay state and local government claims, and reiterated President Obama’s commitment to work with the people of the Gulf to hold BP accountable, and to address economic, health and environmental needs, and restore the beauty and bounty of the region.”

DOJ, BP Finalize Oil Spill Escrow Fund

U.S. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli issued the following statement this morning regarding the Department of Justice (DOJ) and BP finalizing plans to establish a $20 billion fund to award claims made by individuals and businesses impacted by the Gulf oil spill:

“Today, the department announced that it had completed negotiations to establish a $20 billion fund to provide the necessary resources to those suffering from the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We are pleased that BP made an initial contribution and has taken an important step toward honoring its commitment to the President and the residents and business owners in the Gulf region. We have made clear that the company still needs to ensure that the necessary funds will be available if something happens to the subsidiary that established the trust and we look forward to completion of an appropriate security arrangement in the near future.”

Thad Allen Statement On Static Kill

“Based on the successful completion of the static kill procedure and a positive evaluation of the test results, I have authorized BP to cement its damaged well. I made it clear that implementation of this procedure shall in no way delay the completion of the relief well.”