Gulf Coast Disaster - Thursday, September 2

Day 136

Highlights in this issue:

> Weather permitting, engineers will start to raise blowout preventer
> Judge rules against government on drilling moratorium
> Gulf coast workers waiting for payments say government is worse than BP
> BP’s advertising tripled in the three months after spill
> BP officials to brief on “lessons learned” from spill

This morning’s summary
It’s not over yet but we’re getting closer. Crews are expected to begin the process of removing the blowout preventer on BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico today. Weather and waves permitting, engineers will begin about 1 p.m. ET to remove a cap from the blowout preventer, permitting its recovery by Sunday.  It’s still a dangerous dance at the bottom of the ocean. A new replacement blowout preventer will come from a nearby halted relief well. Its placement will let officials begin the final "bottom kill" to permanently seal the well with cement pumped in near the bottom of the well a mile under the sea. The final maneuver is not without danger and plenty of obstacles. There’s still a mess at the bottom of the sea and plenty of controversy on land. Federal Judge Martin Feldman once again ruled against the government on the drilling moratorium. Gulf coast workers are still waiting for payments from BP. And in just another case of sticker shock, the cost of BP’s advertising to defend its honor on the Gulf has tripled to $93 million in just three months.

Quotable quote:
"We will try to pull up the whole thing if we can," National Incident Commander Thad Allen said on plan to remove crippled blowout preventer.

And this one, too
“While BP’s advertising campaign is being executed like clockwork, business and state claims have languished. BP should use a significant portion of its advertising dollars to ease the strain on Florida small businesses that rely on tourism,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.)

Also this
“This will be a classic in crisis management, and I don’t think BP will come off well,” said William Arnold, a professor of energy management at Rice University.


National News

USA Today: Engineers to retrieve failed blowout preventer
Thursday could be the day. Engineers say, weather permitting, they will begin the work of pulling up the failed blowout preventer from the Macondo well. Engineers will begin about 1 p.m. ET to remove the cap from the blowout preventer, permitting its recovery by Sunday.

Read more from Dan Vergano
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-02-oilspill02_ST_N.htm


AP: Risks remain with oil cap coming off
With the cap and failed blowout preventer removed temporarily until another blowout preventer can be installed, a lot will be riding on the stability of a plug that was created when mud and cement were pumped down into the well from the top. Essentially, the pressure exerted downward served to counter the pressure coming up. But the government wasn't offering a guarantee no more oil would leak. Plans were being made for oil collection vessels to be on standby in case of a problem.

Read more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100902/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill


Reuters: Judge rules against government on oil drilling
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium, dealing another blow to the Obama administration. This was the second run through the courts for the drilling ban, which was originally struck down. This time, Judge Martin Feldman said there were “no substantial changes” in the government’s case.

Read more
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0113826620100901


Also see

Bloomberg: Drilling moratorium challenge is kept alive by judge
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-01/judge-denies-u-s-request-to-dismiss-challenge-to-government-drilling-ban.html


Washington Independent: Gulf Coast workers seeking compensation face long waits despite big promises
We hear about the numbers of unprocessed claims from the oil spill, but this is a more close-up and personal account of the people waiting for action on their claims. Two common criticisms emerge. First, claims are taking too long to process. Second, it is difficult to get information about whether claims have been received, processed, approved or rejected. Folks say it’s worse than the BP claims process before.

Read more from Andrew Restuccia
http://washingtonindependent.com/96474/gulf-coast-workers-seeking-compensation-face-long-waits-despite-big-promises


Safety.BLR.com: Oil spill workers need Hazwoper training
OSHA is now on the record that untrained people should not be cleaning up oil spills. They all need hazardous materials training, OSHA says.

Read more
http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/hazardous-substances-and-materials/HAZWOPER-hazardous-waste-operations-and-emergency-response/Oil-Spill-Workers-Need-HAZWOPER-Training/


Business

Bloomberg: BP’s advertising tripled after Gulf spill
In a new kind of conflict with members of Congress, a debated flared over the fact that BP spent $93 million on corporate advertising during the first three months after the spill, three times the amount it spent in the same period the year before. BP wanted to make sure the people of the Gulf knew they were there to stay until the crisis was resolved, the oil cleaned up and the people made whole.

Read more
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-01/bp-s-advertising-tripled-after-oil-spill-waxman-says.html

Also see
USA Today: BP spent $93 million on advertising after Gulf spill
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/bp-gulf-spill-advertising-/1

And this one

Editor and Publisher: BP bought ads in 126 markets since spill
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/oil-gusher-bp-has-bought-newspaper-ads-in-126-markets-since-spill-62479-.aspx


New York Times: BP to sell Malaysian assets to Petronas
BP announced it would sell some of its Malaysian assets to Petronas, the country’s oil consortium, in a deal worth up to $411 million, as it begins to divest itself of businesses to recoup the costs of the Gulf oil spill.

Read more
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/bp-to-sell-malaysian-assets-to-petronas/


Bloomberg: Transocean stock rises over possible takeover
Transocean Ltd., owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf, rose in New York trading after billionaire John Fredriksen said his Seadrill Ltd. may bid for the company. Transocean, the world’s largest oil rig company, gained as much as $2.42, or 4.8 percent, to $53.32 in New York.

Read more
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-09-01/transocean-rises-after-fredriksen-says-he-may-bid-for-rig-owner.html


Offshore Energy Today: BP’s ‘lessons learned’ from the oil spill
The nice phrase is ‘lessons learned.’ BP has submitted a self-investigation of what happened and what went wrong with the response to the Gulf oil spill. Company officials are set to meet Thursday with Michael Bromwich, head of the reorganized agency that is now overseeing offshore oil drilling.

Read more
http://www.offshoreenergytoday.com/usa-offshore-og-industry-has-learned-from-bps-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-response/


AOLNews: Lab results raise new concerns over Gulf seafood
A Boston lab hired by the United Commercial Fishermen's Association to analyze coastal fishing waters, says findings suggest the government's claim that Gulf of Mexico seafood is safe to eat may be premature. The lab, Boston Chemical Data Corp., said it found dispersant in a sample taken near Biloxi, Miss., almost a month after BP said it had stopped using the toxic chemical to break up the record amounts of crude spewed by the Gulf oil spill.

Read more from Laura Parker
http://www.aolnews.com/gulf-oil-spill/article/new-lab-results-raise-questions-about-gulf-seafoods-safety/19616043


Regional

AP: Bahamas suspends new oil exploration licenses
The Bahamas' government says it will not consider new oil exploration or drilling applications for the vast archipelago's waters until a "very stringent" environmental framework can be put in place. The Environment Ministry will also review existing licenses in order to safeguard the 700 islands' marine environment in the wake of the April 20 Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Read more
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HVBLPG0.htm


CNN: Cuban offshore oil plans gain momentum
Cuba aims to drill seven exploration wells in its share of the Gulf of Mexico by 2014, according to American oil experts.

Read more from Shasta Darlington
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/01/cuba.oil/#fbid=7qTINk6hEnZ&wom=false


Baldwin Area News: Alabama’s $148 million Gulf oil spill claim in limbo
Ala. Gov. Bob Riley is seeking $148 million from BP to recoup tax revenue lost since the April 20 explosion decimated the state’s traditionally lucrative tourist season and placed thousands of fisherman and ancillary business owners on hold.

Read more from Kelli M. Dugan
http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2010/09/01/local_news/doc4c7d83f958256402957076.txt


Daily Comet.com: Commission probes oil spill’s impacts
Members of a presidential commission tasked with investigating the Gulf oil spill were in Houma, La., Monday viewing the parish’s eroding wetlands by plane and meeting with local seafood and government leaders.

Read more from Nikki Buskey
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100901/FEATURES12/100909931/1292?Title=Commission-probes-oil-spill-8217-s-impacts


PNJ.com: We must dig deeper – local official
BP contractors are not digging deep enough to find and remove washed-up oil covered by sand,  says a Pensacola official. He says contractors  have not been given the OK by higher-ups to dig deeper than 6 inches in search of tar balls and tar mats on Pensacola Beach.

Read more from Kimberley Blair
http://www.pnj.com/article/20100901/NEWS01/9010325/1006/NEWS01/Oil-spill--We-must-dig-deeper--Lee-says


Examiner: Gulf oil spill birds released in western Louisiana
Last week, 150 more rescued birds were released to the wild in Western Louisiana.Thus far the International Bird Rescue Research Center and the Tri-State Bird Rescue Response Team have cleaned and released 1,129 birds back to their freedom in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia.

Read more from Cheryl Hanna
http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-in-national/gulf-oil-spill-birds-released-western-louisiana


Florida AP: More free concerts planned for Alabama beach
Gulf Shores officials say Bon Jovi and Brad Paisley will perform concerts in mid-October to boost tourism on the Alabama coast after the Gulf oil spill. Bon Jovi will appear on Oct. 15 and Paisley on Oct. 17.

Read more
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/01/1803323/more-free-concerts-planned-for.html


sl.com: NFL auction to help Gulf coast
The NFL is hosting an online auction of signed memorabilia through the first week of the regular season to support the New Orleans Saints' Gulf Coast Renewal Fund.

Read more
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/wires/09/01/2020.ap.fbn.nfl.charity.auction.0160/


Government Technology: Thousands of ideas for the oil spill
Americans wanted to pitch in and help with ideas to stop the Gulf oil spill. More than 20,000 people submitted ideas to BP and the U.S. Coast Guard for stopping the Deepwater Horizon oil spill before the well was capped in July. Ideas were accepted via the Web and a Houston-based call center operated by BP. About a hundred ideas were researched further.

Read more
http://www.govtech.com/gt/769740?topic=117673


Editorial

Zoriah: BP oil spill: Pictures of the Gulf coast disaster
Both a blog and pictures detailing a photographer’s journey through the Gulf oil spill.

Read more
http://www.zoriah.net/blog/


Feature

VOA News: Gulf coast pelicans find new home in Chicago
It’s been a long journey for five American White Pelicans caught in the oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. After being rescued, they were rehabilitated in Mississippi and are now at home at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. "They've actually had injuries to their wings and that's what prevented them from actually migrating north, and if they had migrated north, they wouldn't have gotten into the oil mess," bird curator Tim Snyder said. "Because they were oiled and are now ‘non-flighted,’ they are unable to be released back into the wild."

Read more from Kane Farabaugh
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Gulf-Coast-Pelicans-Find-New-Home-in-Chicago-101994163.html