BP Seal Gets 24 More Hours from US Government

Posted on July 20, 2010 by wahnews

BP Oil Spill Deadline The United States Government allowed BP to keep its well sealed for testing for another 24 hours. This means that the government allows BP to continue its integrity test despite the most recent anomalies which were observed around the well. So far, however, the sealing process has been a success, keeping oil from leaking out of the well for almost a week now, in what has become the first good news since the tragedy occurred.

Now, the latest reports show the presence of methane surrounding the well, and a recorded seep during Sunday morning. These irregularities are the first since the well was sealed successfully, and may affect the testing severely.

Still, Thad Allen, the National Incident commander, has allowed BP to continue for one more day. On the other hand, Allen and his crew will continue to deeply monitor the situation, looking for the slightest hints of malfunctions and any indication that the sealing will only make the situation worse.

BP is also monitoring the situation broadly, and is collaborating with the United States government to gather data and analyze whether the information obtained calls for the sealing to remain, or be taken away, allowing oil to spill out once more to the already vastly damaged Gulf.

New Hope for BP Oil Spill with Cap Success

Posted on July 20, 2010 by wahnews

BP Oil Cap Success For the first time, a cap has successfully sealed the gushing of oil from the Macondo well of BP. It is not entirely over, as there are still complications as expected. A lot of lawsuits are still pending and created, the environment is still affected severely, plants and animals are dying as millions of gallons of oil are still floating in the gulf, and even the cap is not really the permanent solution to the stopping of oil flow.

The permanent solution would be to cement the leak, but this will not be realized until after several weeks more. Indeed, the Gulf of Mexico is still in its peril. However, the success of the new cap that was installed on top of the leak is an indication that all hope is not lost. We have only heard about negative news regarding the BP oil spill until now.

For the 3rd straight day, no oil has spilled out from the Macondo leak, and the Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen has permitted BP to allow the cap to remain for another day before it will taken out again. In fact, the cap will not be installed permanently. It was just installed to perform a test, and BP will go back to the containment process.

BP Shares Falling Further as Political Pressure Increases

Posted on June 10, 2010 by wahnews

BP Oil Stocks Falling The rig explosion in April 20 has caused BP’s shares to fall sharply and reach its lowest drop in 13 years, down to 12 percent according to Thursday’s morning data. This company, Beyond Petroleum, is based in London and is one of the oil giants of the United Kingdom, with its desire to create environment friendly solutions, but now it’s reputation is highly tarnished due to what many consider as the worst oil spill in history, and the most expensive.

In fact, this situation has already caught the attention of the British government, and even the United States government, as Barack Obama promises to give any kind of support just to stop the leak, including military support and whatnot. Ultimately though, President Obama stated that BP will be responsible for all the costs. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, and President Obama will discuss this issue over the phone this weekend.

BP has always been looked at as dependable in terms of paying dividends. Many people, especially retirees and those who need an income that is steady, have held to BP, and of all British stocks, it is one of the most held. Because of the oil spill, capitalization of BP’s market has dropped by half ever since the leak. Furthermore, pressures from Washington are mounting, and it’s possible that the Justice Department will take part.

Oil Price Around $71 Due to Euro Zone Crisis Concerns

Posted on June 8, 2010 by wahnews

Oil Prices Stand at 71 Dollars Euro Zone Crisis The cost of oil is around $71 per barrel on Tuesday. This is primarily due to the concerns regarding the euro zone crisis. This concern outweighs the optimism regarding U.S. demand. Data has shown that the crude stocks will fall for the largest user of fuel in the world. As a result, the stock markets in Europe fell, and it didn’t help that Hungary has debt problems.

For the second week in a row, the crude inventories of the U.S. have fallen. There is a decline in import volumes. By Tuesday at 2030 Greenwich Mean Time, the American Petroleum Institute will show the inventory figures, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration will follow suit in Wednesday.

These data will be really important and will determine the level of demand of gasoline in the U.S. and the condition of the driving season. For now, prices for oil will stay at around $70 – $75 per barrel, which is an acceptable price for OPEC and everyone else concerned.

However, the Euro debt crisis and the U.S. jobs weakness may result in fewer demands for oil, which will pressure their prices. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico also affected Britain and the U.S. in making tighter legislation after the incident.

Louisiana State Bird in Danger

Posted on June 6, 2010 by wahnews

Pelicans in Louisiiana Affected by Oil Spill Wildlife has been vastly affected by the deadly oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In particular, pelicans are greatly troubled by the oil. Their feathers end up soaked in oil whenever they try to grab a fish. These birds were brought to the Louisiana bird rehabilitation center where they received aid from volunteers.

The number of birds needing help grew at a fast rate as the oil slowly edges towards their nesting and breeding grounds. Around 160 birds have already been rescued from the waters and have been cleansed at the center. If you do the math, approximately 3-4 birds are brought in everyday since the incident occurred 7 weeks ago. However, that is not the case here. 66 birds have been accounted to have arrived in the past two days. This is very alarming for the state of Louisiana especially since most of those birds are brown pelicans, their state bird. The brown pelican was recently taken off the endangered species list due to the citizen’s effort in restoring their population.

James Harris, one of the many who have devoted their time to restoring the brown pelican population, says that this incident would put all their work to waste. “This could be a major setback for that effort,” he says. Harris is a biologist working for the US-FWS or United States Fish and Wildlife Service and has been on this project for 20 years.

The center is devoted to saving these birds from the oil soaked waters of Louisiana and promises to do its best to take care of the semi-endangered species.

Obama Reschedules Trip to Asia

Posted on June 5, 2010 by wahnews

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has announced last Thursday that President Barack Obama’s trip to Australia and Indonesia will have to be rescheduled. He did not mention any specific reason for the postponement.

Some sources say the postponement is due to the president’s focus on cleaning up the oil spill. It is estimated that up to 798,000 gallons of oil are still endangering our seas.

This is actually the third time his trip to Asia has been rescheduled. Previously, Obama had to do the same twice because of his need to remain in Washington. At that time in March, the House was voting on the health care bill.

Obama expressed his regret in postponing the trip yet again. He delighted in the new plan though to meet with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when they are in Canada instead. They will be going to Toronto to attend the G-20 summit later this month.

Both parties fully understand the situation Obama is in. The spokesperson of the Indonesian president said “President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fully understands the need for President Obama to remain in the United States and deal with the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history.”

The Gulf Coast oil spill is one of the largest and most devastating to date. Half a million gallons of crude oil are spilling everyday from that undersea well. As of now, around 40 million gallons of oil have drifted into the Gulf since the disaster on April 20.

Oil Spill Clean Up Workers Displaying Damaging Effects of Oil Exposure

Posted on June 4, 2010 by wahnews

Over the past week, West Jefferson Medical Center physicians have reported handling several patients with the same flu-like symptoms: headaches, nausea, and respiratory problems.

So far, 11 workers from the clean up drive have been treated by Dr. Damon Dietrich and his colleagues for what the doctors believe as symptoms caused by the BP Oil Spill. Toxic fumes from dispersants and oil itself may have triggered such flu-like symptoms.

The U.S. Coast Guard and BP believe otherwise. Heat, dehydration, food poisoning or other irrelevant factors are conceived to have caused the workers’ illness. Light exposure to dispersants and crude oil cannot cause significant harm to the body, but constant exposure cause damage to kidneys, livers, or blood. Accidental swallowing of oil leads to diarrhea, vomiting, and upset stomach.

An astounding 21 to 45 million gallons of crude has contaminated the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 contactors. John Wunstell Jr., a fisherman who joined the crew for burning oil, experienced a disturbed stomach, nose bleed, and severe headache after an overnight stay on a vessel near the main spill site. Dozens of other workers have an alarmingly same pattern of symptoms that have been declared by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals to be directly related to prolonged oil exposure.

The health department has released federal guidelines that impose the use protective gear while working at the oil spill site. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital still continues to investigate this matter.

Work at Home News

Tag Archives: oil spill