|  by Phil Rae & Michael Economides On the evening of April 20, 2010, the crew aboard the Transocean semisubmersible drilling rig Deepwater Horizon was at work in the Gulf of Mexico, making preparations to temporarily abandon the well they had been drilling for the past 73 days in a prospect called Mississippi Canyon 252. The well had been drilled in water over a mile deep, and its total depth from the surface was over 18,000 feet. It was the first well to be drilled in this prospect, also known as Macondo, by a consortium of three oil companies, headed-up by multinational BP. The previous night, the final steel casing – a so-called production long string – had been cemented in place, and the crew had tested the outcome of that cement job only a few hours earlier to confirm the well’s integrity with a series of pressure... Read More>>> Back to Top |  One year ago today (April 20, 2010) the Deepwater Horizon Rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 rigworkers and injuring 17 others. The result of the explosion was a leak that lasted months, spilling millions of barrels of oil into the gulf. 4.9 million barrels of oil discharged RESPONSE FACTS: 47, 829 Responders at peak
9,700 vessels at peak
6,500 government and commercial vessels
3,200 vessels of opportunity
3.8 million feet of hard boom deployed
9.7 million feet of soft boom deployed
1.8 million gallons of dispersants used
411 in-situ burns conducted (265,450 barrels of oil burned)
127 surveillance aircraft
4... Read More>>> Back to Top |  This 20 minute film covers events in BP since the tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico last year. It reviews the response to the oil spill, at sea, at the shoreline and in the community, and outlines the steps BP has been taking on safety and risk management across the company since the accident. Watch the video here: A Year of Change Read More>>> Back to Top |  More than 1,000 square miles opened today NOAA today reopened to commercial and recreational fishing 1,041 square miles of Gulf waters immediately surrounding the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, just east of Louisiana. This is the twelfth and final reopening in federal waters since July 22, and opens all of the areas in Federal waters formerly closed to fishing due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
This reopening was announced after consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and under a reopening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA, and the Gulf states. Tuesday, April 19, 2011: The last area in federal waters closed to fishing due to the oil spill reopens (See map above). Download Here (Credit: NOAA) “I am pleased to announce that all... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Included here is just some of the best read articles and opinion pieces that stemmed from our coverage of one of the greatest environmental disasters in the U.S. OPED: IN THE WAKE OF BP GULF OIL SPILL |  The Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today that its membership has grown to 10 members at the conclusion of the company’s formation period. The MWCC member companies are now Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Apache, Anadarko, BHP Billiton, Statoil and Hess. These 10 companies operated approximately 70 percent of deepwater wells drilled in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico between 2007 through 2009. Marty Massey, chief executive officer of MWCC, said, “Our membership includes companies that are active in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. This membership strengthens MWCC’s collective expertise and underscores our capability for deepwater well containment.” MWCC’s interim containment response system, which is ready for deployment, is capable of operating in water depths of 8,000 feet and processing up to 60,000 barrels of fluid per day. Work is... Read More>>> Back to Top | | |
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