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Gulf oil cleanup
Volunteers Descend on Gulf to Restore Oyster Beds
By not in system - AOL NewsMOBILE, Ala. -- Volunteers from across the country are rebuilding oyster reefs along the Gulf of Mexico's delicate shoreline, hoping to revive oyster beds under assault for decades from overharvesting, coastal development, pollution, and most recently the BP oil spill. The waters harbor much of the world's last remaining productive natural oyster beds, but BP PLC's April 20 oil well blowout dumped millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf and dealt yet another blow to the once bountiful habitat. This weekend, volunteers descended on Mobile Bay with 23,000 bags of oyster shells aimed at ...
Six Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Oil Spill
By Laura Parker - AOL NewsWASHINGTON -- Of the tens of thousands of people who worked to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, many had competing loyalties and agendas. Unified, they were not. Complicating matters, local, state and federal officials felt enormous pressure to avoid being seen as in cahoots with BP. Because the federal government's response was slow off the mark, President Barack Obama got much of the blame. In the Oil Spill Commission's final report, the following excerpts from "Chapter Five: Response and Containment," give a first look at some of what went on behind the scenes: 1. The Myth of ...
Gulf Residents' Skepticism Remains Uncapped
By not in system - AOL News(Aug. 20) -- The BP spill appears to be capped for good, even though the ultimate solution known as "final kill" has yet to be implemented. But while fresh oil has stopped gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, distrust and resentment continue to flow freely. Many citizens and scientists alike do not believe an inter-agency federal report stating that roughly 25 percent of the spilled oil was collected by processes such as skimming, 25 percent has deteriorated or been consumed by microbes, and 25 percent has dispersed. The remaining "residual amount," the report continues, ". . . is either on or ...
Reports Sharply Contradict Claims About Vanished Oil
By Dana Chivvis - AOL News(Aug. 17) -- Two new reports from different groups of academic scientists are providing a counterweight to the government's rosy assertions that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis is drawing to a close. One says that as much as 79 percent of the oil is still loose in the gulf; the other expresses the fear that oil on the ocean floor may not stay there but could resurface at a later time. Researchers at the University of Georgia announced Monday that between 70 and 79 percent of the oil and its toxic byproducts are still present under the surface of the gulf. That finding stands in stark ...
BP May Have Already Plugged Oil Well for Good
By Lauren Frayer - AOL News(Aug. 13) -- Analysis of pressure tests on BP's cemented Gulf of Mexico oil well could indicate today that the damaged well is already plugged for good, and that a relief well won't be needed after all. For more than three months, BP has been drilling two relief wells near the Deepwater Horizon disaster, to intercept the damaged well shaft deep under the sea floor and plug it with heavy mud and cement. One of the wells reached within 30 feet of the problem well, before drilling was temporarily called off earlier this week, as a tropical depression swept through the gulf. Now officials say ...
BP Says It May Drill Again in Gulf Spill Reservoir
By not in system - AOL NewsNEW ORLEANS (Aug. 6) -- BP PLC said today it might someday drill again into the same lucrative undersea pocket of oil that spilled millions of gallons of crude, wrecked livelihoods and fouled beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. "There's lots of oil and gas here," Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said at a news briefing. "We're going to have to think about what to do with that at some point." The vast oil reservoir beneath the blown well is still believed to hold nearly $4 billion worth of crude. With the company and its partners facing tens of billions of dollars in liabilities, the ...
BP Begins Pumping Cement Into Busted Gulf Well
By not in system - AOL News10:31 AM ET Update: BP says it is pumping cement down blow-out Gulf well in effort to finish 'static kill' (AP) NEW ORLEANS (Aug. 5) -- BP planned to start pumping cement into its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, following up on a key development in the effort to kill the well when mud that was shoved in successfully held back the flow of crude. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to stem the flow of oil a mile underwater, the tide appeared to be turning in the months-long battle to stop the massive oil spill. BP PLC said Wednesday it was finally able to force the ...
BP Update: Record Loss, Hayward Dumped and More
By Dana Chivvis - AOL News(July 27) -- Change is in the air at BP today, which, not coincidentally, is also announcing that it has posted a record loss for the second quarter. BP shares are up 5 percent this week. Below, Surge Desk looks at where BP stands now. 1. Hayward Out, Dudley In BP has made it official: As of Oct. 1, Tony Hayward will be replaced by Bob Dudley, the first American to lead the British company. "The Gulf of Mexico explosion was a terrible tragedy for which -- as the man in charge of BP when it happened -- I will always feel a deep responsibility, regardless of where blame is ultimately found to ...
Relief Tunnel Should Reach Blown-Out Well by Weekend
By not in system - AOL NewsNEW ORLEANS (July 21) -- Three months into the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government's spill chief says a relief tunnel should finally reach BP's broken well by the weekend, meaning the gusher could be snuffed for good within two weeks. After several days of concern about the well's stability and the leaky cap keeping the oil mostly bottled up, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Tuesday that engineers concluded the risk of a bigger blowout was minimal and were getting closer to pumping mud into the column to permanently seal it. "We continue to be pleased with the ...
Capping BP Well Would Be Just 'End of the Beginning'
By Laura Parker - AOL News(July 13) -- If BP's latest effort to stanch its runaway well succeeds, and the newly installed cap passes an "integrity test" this week, it will be the most promising news to come out of the Gulf of Mexico in 85 days. The 150,000-pound cap, fitted snugly atop the reconfigured blowout preventer Monday night, now must survive a test to see if it can withstand the pressure of the gushing oil. If pressure measurements remain high, between 8,000 and 9,000 pounds per square inch, that will tell BP's engineers that the cap can contain the oil. They can then move to "shut in" the well, meaning they ...
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