Gulf Coast Disaster - Monday, August 30

Day 133

Highlights in this issue:

-Rough seas delay work at the well site
- BP blames its engineers for explosion
- Oil spill commission wants subpoena power
- Higher costs, consolidation expected in Gulf of Mexico
- BP media blackout hides dead oil spill animals
- Survey updates impact of spill on real estate

This afternoon’s summary
Rough seas are delaying the latest effort to permanently plug the oil well. Incident Commander Thad Allen says the rough waters will likely delay the next phase of shutting down the well by 2-3 days. "We are in a hold pending calming of the current weather," Allen said. Meanwhile, the focus for investigators is on who to blame for the oil disaster. BP has accepted some of the blame for the deadly rig disaster that led to the worst oil spill in US history. An internal investigation reveals that the oil giant's own engineers misread data that contributed to the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon, a source familiar with BP's probe told Bloomberg News. As a result of the misinterpreted data on April 20, rig workers began replacing drilling fluid in the doomed well with seawater, which was too light to prevent natural gas from leaking into the well. That disclosure won’t end the quest for what happened and why. It may make it easier for the investigating panels to hone in on a specific area. But it is just the beginning for investigators to sift through the rubble of the oil spill disaster, find the causes and offer prescriptions for prevention.

Quotable Quote:
“Our ability to manage risks hasn’t caught up with our ability to explore and produce in deep water,” said Edward C. Chow, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The question now is, how are we going to protect against a blowout as well as all of the other associated risks offshore?”

And this one, too

President Obama interviewed by NBC in New Orleans:
"We've got a lot more work to do," Obama said. "But the fact is because of the sturdiness and swiftness of the response, there's a lot less oil hitting these shores and these beaches than anybody would have anticipated given the volume that was coming out of the BP oil well."

National News:

Bloomberg: High seas delay work at the well site
BP Plc’s effort to permanently plug the Gulf of Mexico well that caused the largest U.S. offshore oil spill in history probably will be delayed two or three days by rough seas, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said. Waves up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) make it unsafe to remove and replace heavy valve assemblies a mile below the water’s surface., Storms may persist another three days at the Macondo well, he said. "We are in a weather hold right now," he said.

Read more by Jim Polson and Mark Chediak:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-30/high-seas-delay-bp-s-work-at-gulf-of-mexico-well.html

Check this one out, too
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/08/bp-oil-spill/1


Bloomberg: BP blames its engineers for explosion
The blame-game continues. Now BP’s internal investigation of the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster pins some of the blame on the company for mistakes made when finishing the oil well, including misreading pressure data that indicated a blowout was imminent.

Read more:
Checkhttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/08/30/2010-08-30_bp_internal_probe_finds_error_by_own_engineers_led_to_explosion_oil_spill_in_gul.html


The Hill: Oil spill commission wants subpoena power
The investigations into the BP oil spill in the Gulf are getting tougher. William Reilly, the co-chairman of the White House-created panel probing the BP oil spill is pressing the Senate to give the commission power to compel testimony from witnesses. The House has twice approved subpoena power for the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. But the Senate has not acted. “I wish they would give us subpoena authority and hope that they do that as soon as they come back from recess,” said co-chairman William Reilly.

Read more:
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/116261-oil-spill-panel-chief-to-senate-give-us-subpoena-power


PennEnergy: Higher costs, consolidation expected in Gulf of Mexico
Drilling costs and operating expenses in the Gulf of Mexico are apt to escalate in the aftermath of the explosion on Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon. This anticipated rise in costs stems from proposed regulatory changes.

Read more Paula Dittrick
http://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/9010473793/articles/oil-gas-journal/general-interest-2/2010/08/higher-costs__consolidation.html


AllVoices: BP media blackout hides dead oil spill animals
The Gulf oil spill media blackout goes deeper than hiding the oil spill by sinking it with BP dispersant. BP also took dead animals that washed up on beaches along the Gulf Coast and buried them before their corpses could be documented by photographers. An eye witness said she also saw dead oil-spill birds having their heads cut off by BP employees.

Read more
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6626613-bp-media-blackout-hides-dead-oil-spill-animals-cutting-heads-off-birds


AP: Key moments in BP’s push to operate on frontiers
This is a timeline of the increasing risks and push by BP to operate on the frontiers of the oil and gas industry.

Read more
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTs-ir85ChXpteHXfx3Rn_vy2KkAD9HTA75G1


Editorial

New York Times: Mr. Feinberg and the Gulf settlement
Given his reputation, experience, and the amount of money on the table, it is clearly in the interests of every victim of this spill to give this program a careful, unemotional look. We probably cannot expect the lawyers to act responsibly. We do expect better of the politicians.

Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/opinion/30mon1.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss


BattleCreekEnquirer.com: Oil spill serving a purpose
Environmentalists insisted it was necessary to protect the Gulf. Residents of the Gulf coast states decried the drilling ban. According to this account, The Bipartisan Policy Center says it may have served an important purpose—creating a time-out so that new safety standards could be devised for offshore drilling.

Read more
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100829/OPINION01/308290005/Serving-a-purpose


Politics

ABC News: In New Orleans, a shrimp po’ takes on added significance
It was the shrimp po’ boy seen round the world—the one President Barack Obama ate in New Orleans Sunday to show his support for Gulf coast seafood.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/bp-internal-report-said-to-find-engineers-misread-gulf-well-test-results.html this one out, too

Read more from Jake Tapper and Barbara Garcia
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/08/in-new-orleans-a-shrimp-poboy-takes-on-added-significance.html


Regional

Valuation Review: Survey updates impact of spill on real estate
Here are results from a Gulf coast real estate survey: 23.8 percent of respondents reported a negative impact on their market(s) due to the oil spill; More than 50 percent of those reporting a negative impact also reported a decrease in housing values by 5-15 percent; The number of sales has dropped dramatically year-over-year in many market…and much of the impact reported is social stigma due to a high degree of uncertainty.

Read more
http://www.valuationreview.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=270E8EBA5AF64172B917EBD588EDB85A&nm=Daily+News&type=news&mod=News&mid=5F249E552B2C49509BC41751816632F3&AudID=F0F48C5C19CB47B3A675FD6074A3CB8A&tier


Stltoday.com: Missouri’s natural resources director trades job for an oil spill one
Missouri's director of the Department of Natural Resources is trading one water controversy -- E. coli -- for one of a larger magnitude: the BP oil spill. Mark Templeton has resigned as head of DNR to take a job as executive director of the "Office of Independent Trustees" of the BP oil spill fund.

Read more:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/article_d6dfc068-b458-11df-ba5a-0017a4a78c22.html


Times Picayune: Gulf oil spill stains ink company
This is a story about a 55-year-old family-owned linen company that services Alabama coast hotels and residences and is now struggling. It has turned to a local business nonprofit consortium for help because it is getting no help from BP. Company VP Mike Saulters said he was told in July that the claim had been approved. But a BP representative called Aug. 13 to say he’d have to begin the process again after federal claims czar Ken Feinberg took over on Aug. 23.

Read more from Guy Busby
http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/gulf_oil_spill_stains_linen_co.html


Times Daily.com: Spill has restaurants seeking new suppliers
Considering that it is a prime reason tourists come to the Gulf and specifically to its restaurants, restaurant owners along the Gulf coast are ardently searching for other suppliers for seafood to serve.

Read more from Bernie Delinski
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100829/NEWS/100829811/1011/NEWS?Title=Spill-has-restaurants-seeking-new-suppliers


WTSP.com: Local group fishermen “things getting worse” after oil spill
Grouper fishermen out of the Florida Gulf coast say their business is down 60 percent since the oil spill, not because of the oil but because the federal government closed so much of the commercial fishing grounds.

Read more from Janie Porter
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=143292&catid=8


PNJ.com: Oil couture in fashion in Pensacola area
People of the Gulf coast are wearing their feelings on their sleeves, backs and shirt fronts. Clothing with pointed messages is becoming the rage in Pensacola, Fla. “"Save Our Gulf," "Paradise Lost," "Oiled Shrimp" and "Crude Life" on T-shirts, are all over hats and backpacks. "It's a way to express the frustration over the BP oil spill," said Victor Wright, a charter boat captain and co-owner of Gulf Breeze Bait & Tackle. "Crude Life means you're taking away our way of life."

Read more from Kimberley Blair
http://www.pnj.com/article/20100828/LIFE/8280301/Oil-couture-in-fashion-in-Pensacola-area


FeatureNew York Times: Risks of deep sea drilling increase
Major offshore accidents are not common. But whether equipment failure or human error, the risks are increasing as the rigs get larger and more complicated. Major offshore accidents are not common. Yet even as regulators investigate the causes of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the broader dangers posed by the industry’s push into deeper waters have gone largely unscrutinized. And problems are more common than the industry likes to admit.

Read more by Jad Mouawad and Barry Meier:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/business/energy-environment/30deep.html?hp