Resolving the BP oil spill - related news

BP is asked for advance notice of dealings by US

The US government has asked BP to tell it of any major asset sales or merger deals in advance, as it continues to keep a close eye on the oil giant.

The highly unusual request came in a letter from the US Department of Justice dated 23 June.

BP told the BBC it had yet to respond to the letter.

The company is facing massive clean-up costs and compensation claims as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, which began in April.

The US government has been highly critical of BP's handling of the oil leak.

Congressmen have accused chief executive Tony Hayward of not taking responsibility, while questioning him about alleged cost-cutting measures that could have contributed to the leak.

In its latest update, BP said the oil leak had now cost it $3.12bn (£2bn), though the total cost is forecast by analysts to be tens of billions of dollars.

As a result, it has said it will look at selling some assets and attracting new investment.

On Wednesday, Mr Hayward was visiting Abu Dhabi, with media reports speculating he was in the region to entice wealthy investors.

BP said Mr Hayward's visit was routine.

There has been a great deal of speculation in recent days about potential investors in BP, including the Kuwaiti Investment Authority, China's PetroChina and the US oil giant Exxon Mobil.

These reports, as well as statements from BP saying the company had no plans to issue new shares, have helped the company's share price to rally this week.

On Wednesday, it rose a further 5%.

But despite the bounce, BP's shares have almost halved in value since the explosion on the Deep Horizon oil rig triggered the leak on 20 April.

Oil is continuing to spill into the Gulf and BP has said two relief wells being drilled to stop the leak are on course for completion by August.

arjay wrote:This thread is specifically about the progress in resolving the BP oil spill.

According to the latest numbers from BP, 433 vessels are collecting oil in the Gulf, but less than a third of those are specialized boats designed specifically for oil skimming.

On the Senate floor last week, Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., pointed to a Coast Guard map detailing more than 850 skimmers available in the southeastern United States -- and more than 1,600 available in the continental United States.

"We are literally talking about more than a thousand skimmers that are available, but we only have 400 - if this number is correct -- at work," LeMieux said. "It is hard to believe that the response is this anemic; it is hard to believe that there is this lack of urgency or sense of purpose in getting this done."

BP has begun an operation to fit a tighter cap over its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico.

An underwater robot has taken off the existing dome to make room for the new sealing cap.

But the operation may last between four and seven days - meaning oil will flow unimpeded into the sea.

Another system is also being linked up and may start collecting crude on Sunday, BP says. It is drilling two wells to intercept and block the leak.

It estimates the first of these wells will be finished in the first half of August, enabling the company to intercept the damaged well "and kill operations performed".

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April killed 11 people. President Barack Obama has called the leak the biggest environmental disaster in US history.
Increased potential

BP's submersible robots are preparing to remove the current containment cap from the ocean floor.

The new sealing cap - similar to a smaller version of the damaged blow-out preventer - has three devices that are designed to shut the flow, the closing rams, and multiple ports for connecting pipes to collect crude.

According to BP, the new cap "creates the potential to increase oil and gas containment capacity to greater than 50,000 barrels per day and should improve containment efficiency during hurricane season by allowing shorter disconnect and reconnect times".

The company said that "there can be no assurance that the sealing cap will be successfully installed or installed within the anticipated timeframe", given it has never been attempted at this depth before.

It added that contingency caps like the existing one are at the ready on the seabed, should the replacement operation fail.

The company also said that favourable weather conditions had made it possible to begin another operation in tandem - connecting a new ship to the blow-out preventer.

Known as the Helix Producer, it will begin collecting oil and sending it to a third ship being used for the purpose.

BP says this could begin "ramping up containment operations as early as Sunday".

The containment dome currently collects about half the amount of oil gushing out of the damaged well.

On Friday, the Coast Guard commander overseeing the response, Adm Thad Allen, said the flow of leaking oil could be shut off by Monday. But in that time hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil could flow unabated into the ocean.

"We have a significant chance to dramatically reduce the oil that's being released into the environment and maybe shut the well in altogether in the next week," he said.

"I use the word 'contained'," said Adm Allen. "'Stop' is when we put the plug in down below."

At the moment it is believed that BP is siphoning off only around half the leaking oil.

Current US government estimates of the spill range from between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day.

On Thursday BP said its operation to drill a new relief well to stop the Deepwater Horizon leak was ahead of schedule.

BP's bill so far has been more than $3.1bn - and it has agreed to set up a $20bn fund to deal with compensation claims and clean-up costs.

Underwater robots have successfully removed a leaking cap on BP's blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well, the first stage in fitting a tighter cap.

Video shows new cap put on leaking BP Gulf well

NEW ORLEANS – Live underwater video showed a new cap was placed Monday onto the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, offering hope of containing the gusher for the first time since BP's deepwater rig exploded in April.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100712/ap_ ... _oil_spill

NEW ORLEANS – BP's work to cap its Gulf of Mexico gusher was in limbo Wednesday after the federal government raised concerns the operation could put damaging pressure on the busted well and make the leak worse.

Suttles said the government wants to verify that the casing, or the piping in the well, is intact and that the oil would stay contained if BP shuts the well in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10654584

BP says it has temporarily stopped oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from its leaking well.

It is the first time the flow has stopped since an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April.

The well has been sealed with a cap as part of a test of its integrity that could last up to 48 hours.