http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2010/06/07/bp-captures-more-oil-spill-consequences-grow/

June 7, 2010, 9:42 AM GMT
By James Herron and Jeffrey Sparshott

BP has reported some success in capturing oil leaking from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, but the cost continues to escalate and political pressure mounts on all sides for the embattled company.

CONTAINMENT

BP said Monday that on June 5 the cap it has attached to the top of the leaking well captured 10,500 barrels of oil out of an estimated 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day gushing from the wellhead. Analysts hailed this as a long overdue success for the embattled company.

“At last BP is able to show some progress on tackling the leak and this will put it in a less damaged position in tackling the political pressure which still remains a threat,” said NCB Stockbrokers analyst Peter Hutton, who upgraded BP to hold from reduce on the news.

CLEANUP

More than 2,600 vessels, 2.2 million feet of containment boom and 2.4 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed in the response effort. Approximately 368,000 barrels of oily liquid have been skimmed from the surface.

The containment success was providing little comfort to people already affected by oil contamination. In the resort of Gulf Shores, Ala., local officials lamented a flood of vacation cancellations and what they see as a second-rate clean-up operation since tar balls began hitting the white sands over the weekend.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal continued political pressure for the construction of 128 miles of sand barrier islands to protect delicate marshes. The Army Corps of Engineers has approved a scaled down version of the plan and BP said it has set aside $360 million to pay for it.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour struck a different note, telling Fox News Sunday that the media’s tendency to lump all of the Gulf coastlines and beaches together as victims of the spill was hurting the state’s tourism industry. “We have had virtually no oil,” he said.

COST AND CONSEQUENCES

The cost of cleanup and the efforts to cap the leaking well has now reached $1.25 billion, BP said Monday. [Read BP’s latest statement here.]

Estimates of the ultimate bill keep rising as the likelihood of significant compensation payouts and civil or criminal penalties increases. “Our model assumes $12 billion impact on operating costs from the clean-up and weaker ability to progress on cost savings,” said Hutton. “But the majority of assumed litigation costs are beyond 2011,” he added.

BP reassured investors Friday that it has the financial strength to meet this cost, but, “the political backdrop makes it difficult for BP to maintain its existing level of dividend even if the balance sheet does,” said Hutton

Congressional Democrats plan an aggressive legislative response to the oil disaster bringing much stricter regulations. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wants a “comprehensive clean-energy bill” on the Senate floor by July, aimed at pushing the economy to “kick the oil habit.”

Other initiatives likely to be considered are raising the cap on oil-spill liability to $10 billion, improvements in oil-worker safety, a toughening of environmental protections for offshore drilling and a further revamping of the Minerals Management Service. Republicans plan to counter with legislation targeting BP rather than the oil industry as a whole.

BP was one of the few companies to see its shares rise in London Monday morning, following the containment success. However, it remains at less than two-thirds its price before the disaster and analysts remain cautious about whether the company is a good investment.

WHAT’S NEXT?

BP plans to increase the efficiency of the containment cap and the volume of oil it is capturing by using hoses attached to the blowout preventer manifold to transport some of the leaking oil through a separate pipeline to the surface. This method is expected to be deployed mid-June, the company said.

BP plans by early July to have attached a more flexible hose linking the surface vessel storing the oil to the top of the pipeline coming from the cap on the well. This will allow, “greatest flexibility for operations during a hurricane,” BP said. The impact a hurricane could have on the containment operation has become a major concern.

BP also plans a new advertising campaign aimed at salvaging its image in the U.S. The $50 million campaign features Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who has come under severe and personal criticism in the U.S., apologizing and promising to pay the full bill for the spill. U.S. President Barack Obama has already criticized BP for spending on advertising while oil continues to leak.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/blog/2010/06/obama_should_fire_ken_salazar.html
JUNE 4, 2010
It’s time for him to go.

We’ve seen enough of Ken Salazar.

President Obama should take his Interior secretary with him to the Gulf today and forget to bring him back.

He’s been useless, and never more so than right now. He casts no shadow.
The president has already admitted he screwed the pooch on the spill response. What’s one more mea culpa when the entire Gulf region is starting to smell like a gigantic Jiffy Lube?

It’s not as if Obama couldn’t find a replacement. Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva immediately comes to mind. How about Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, who has fought big oil and has a business background? Pick a Udall–Tom or Mark–both senators and both with a family history of caring for the environment.

Salazar, the former Colorado senator, has already proven he’s out of his league. Pressed last month by a Congressional panel about his response to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, Salazar responded that he sent a top aide to the region “without a change of underwear.”

What a twofer: pitifully lacking in detail AND too much information.

Let’s review his tenure as a member of Obama’s cabinet.

He assumed the post in January 2009, knowing that during six of the last eight years, his department was run by Gale Norton, a political hack who fled to take a cushy job at Shell Oil.

Further, there’s a scathing 2007 report sitting on his desk that says the Minerals Mangement Service office in Denver is “a dysfunctional organization that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior and a free-for-all atmosphere” that included some of your employees doing drugs and having sex with the very people they’re supposed to be keeping an eye on.

But instead of taking a blowtorch to the infected parts of the operation, he scooted about the country doing photo opportunities in front of really groovy places run by his National Park Service.

In March 2009, he called the controversy surrounding an 11th-hour Bush administration decision to allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in national parks a “distraction” to Americans and his department.

The folks who know better–the ones who raise money for parks and former employees–disagreed. The National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees filed suit, asking that the no loaded guns policy established under the Reagan administration be restored.

Salazar hired Sylvia Vaca, a former BP executive, to be deputy administrator for land and minerals management.

Meanwhile, the MMS allowed the operators of the BP Deepwater Horizon rig to cut corners.

And even with oil erupting into the Gulf, Salazar’s underlings approved other underwater drilling permits.

Last week, the Inspector General issued another MMS report that found employees in Louisiana took tickets to sports events, indulged in free lunches and other gifts from oil and gas companies. Thirteen employees had porn on their government computers and others did drugs.

Salazar called the report, “deeply disturbing.”

Really? Is that the best he could do?

The secretary has a plan. He wants to replace MMS with a new bureaucracy to separate the enforcement function from the oil and gas revenue collection operation. In that way, there will be one hand out instead of two.

The name Minerals Management Service would be but a memory. Salazar should be in that category, too.

Cleaning up this mess should start at Interior and with Salazar, who wears a big cowboy hat, but can’t talk the talk or walk the walk.

Posted by Candus Thomson at 8:30 AM

www.1Sky.org

This is well worth reading through; an important summary of what’s going on to address the BP and climate change legislation.  DV

The Senate returns from recess today, and according to Majority Leader Reid (D-NV), discussing energy-related legislation is at the top of their agenda. The BP Spill has the potential to transform the energy debate in Congress. Leadership in the Senate and the White House have an opportunity to pivot off of the BP spill and drive our energy policy in a new direction.   Ironically, that process will begin with a vote on Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) “Dirty Air Act,” which would roll back regulations on the oil industry, and make our nation more dependent on oil for years to come. 1Sky and others in the climate community are campaigning to defeat the Dirty Air Act, and sending a clear message to Senators that we need to pivot off of this disaster toward a comprehensive solution that will reduce our tragic dependence on oil and other dirty fossil fuels.
Senate Timeline:

6/7: Congress returns from Memorial Day recess
6/10: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) meets with relevant committee chairs to chart a path forward on “energy-related” legislation
6/10: Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act up for a vote, needs 51 votes to pass
6/15: Senate Majority Leader Reid meets with Democratic caucus on energy and climate legislation
7/3-7/11: Independence Day Recess
Murkowski’s Dirty Air Act Vote on Thursday

Senator Murkowski will bring her “Dirty Air Act” up for a vote on Thursday, June 10.
Murkowski’s “resolution of disapproval” (S.J.Res. 26), which would gut the Clean Air Act, currently has 41 co-sponsors, and only needs 51 votes to pass.
The vote will be extremely close and advocacy this week is critical. Winning as many votes as possible against Murkowski is a crucial show of support for Clean Air Act regulations that will reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels like oil and coal.  It will also embolden Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) in his efforts to move climate and energy reform before the mid-term elections (see below).  http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/05/25/25climatewire-sen-murkowskis-epa-resolution-on-greenhouse-23579.html
1Sky and other climate advocacy organizations will continue to mobilize in opposition to the Dirty Air Act throughout the next week http://www.1sky.org/calls  and http://www.1sky.org/murkowski  
For more information, check out USCAN’s Dirty Air Act page: http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/policy/dirty-air-act-amendment
Comprehensive Legislative Responses to the BP Oil Disaster

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) wrote a letter to Committee Chairs calling for comprehensive energy legislation and asking them to “provide any recommendations or report legislation, if desired, in your Committee’s jurisdiction, before the Fourth of July recess…” http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/101307-reid-pushes-to-move-energy-bill-in-july
The Hill published a story laying out a possible Democratic strategy for passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill that mirrors the strategy used for Wall St Reform:
A Senior Democratic Aide said “The reason we were successful on Wall Street reform is that we were able to show a sharp contrast. We had a foil – Wall Street – and we had an enabler – the Republicans.” To idea is to frame those who vote no as supporters of Big Oil, much like the Democrats used Wall Street to generate the votes for Financial Regulatory Reform. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/100743-democrats-see-big-oil-as-foil-in-energy-and-climate-debate
The disaster that continues to unfold in the Gulf is increasing political pressure to address our dependence on oil. There are several pieces of legislation already being introduced in the House and Senate that address our oil dependence and the BP disaster.
Senator Dorgan (D-ND) and Senator Alexander (R-TN) introduced the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 in the Senate. The same bill was introduced by a bi-partisan group in the House .  http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=325317
Senator Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Clean Coasts and Efficient Cars Act which would place a permanent moratorium on offshore drilling and boost fuel-economy standards from 35 mpg to 55 mpg by 2030.  http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=A90354DF-2892-4EF7-8BAF-F8899521CCA1
Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) has been blocked 3 times by Senate opposition to his moves to eliminate the $75 million dollar cap on oil companies’ liability. http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=325249&
Senator Merkley (D-OR) joined Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Nelson (D-FL) to introduce the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act, which would crack down on a series of loopholes that amount to over $20 billion for Big Oil.  http://merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=F68FED0D-08C0-4DC4-9035-211E28DD9B7E
The EPA announced that their analysis of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act Discussion Draft will be finished this week and released to the Senate on Wednesday June 9 (See http://www.1sky.org/files/1Sky-Kerry-Lieberman-APA-Bill-Analysis-May-17-2010.pdf)
BP Oil Disaster Update

BP’s latest attempt to stop the oil leak, called the “cut-and-cap” is progressing according to plan. The “cut” has been successful, and a loosely-fitting “cap” is now in place. This plan is considered risky because slicing away a section of the pipe could increase the flow of oil by as much as 20 percent. Over the weekend, BP engineers captured more than 500,000 gallons of oil but oil continues to leak at an alarming rate.  Meanwhile, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Thad Allen warned that the spill could last well into the fall. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/us/07spill.html?hp
BP continues to claim that there are no sub-surface plumes of oil, while Good Morning America visits researchers with discovering proof of their existence. http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/06/02/lubchenco-doubts-plumes/
Workers cleaning up the oil are experiencing flu-like symptoms which they claim may be a resultant of the chemical dispersants used to dissipate the oil in the water, although BP and the U.S. Coast Guard continues to say that it is likely food poisoning or dehydration http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37489625/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/
1Sky ally, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, reported on their trip over the Gulf of Mexico in this eye-opening blog: http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2010/05/28/sace-flies-over-gulf/
Less than 2 weeks after Obama’s “6-month ban on deepwater offshore drilling”, there is confusion, even in the media, on the extent of the Obama Administration’s drilling ban.
·         On Wednesday, the Obama Administration approved a new shallow water drilling permit 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana while thousands of barrels continued to pour into the ocean. http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/obama-admin-approves-new-drilling-gulf-disaster-continues

There is no moratorium on shallow water drilling according to an Interior Department spokeswoman.  However, the regional supervisor of field operations at the Minerals Management Service (“MMS”) “told a company seeking a permit that ‘until further notice’ no new drilling is being allowed in the Gulf no matter the water depth.”  The contradiction has yet to be clarified by the Obama Administration. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10818393
1Sky and our allies are working to pivot off of the BP Oil Disaster to end our addiction to dirty fossil fuels:
MoveOn.org is hosing vigils across the country on the 50th day since the oil rig explosion.  http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/create.html?action_id=213&id=&t=5
Seize BP is calling for a seizure of BP’s assets to pay for the environmental and economic impacts of the spill on the Gulf Coast.  http://www.seizebp.org
A broad coalition of groups is sponsoring an event called “Hands Across the Sand” on June 26, to call for the protection of our coastal economies and communities and a clean energy economy. http://www.handsacrossthesand.org/

President Obama Calls for Comprehensive Energy and Climate Legislation in Response to BP Disaster

President Obama spoke at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday and focused much of his speech the BP Oil Disaster and the need for clean energy legislation in the Senate.  1Sky and our allies nationwide are pushing President Obama hard for more engaged leadership in the debate.
Obama: “The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive energy and climate bill, and there is currently a plan in the Senate — a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans — that would achieve the same goal. And, Pittsburgh, I want you to know, the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months. (Applause.) I will continue to make the case for a clean energy future wherever and whenever I can. (Applause.) I will work with anyone to get this done — and we will get it done.  The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean energy future…. And the only way to do that is by finally putting a price on carbon pollution. . . . But the only way the transition to clean energy will ultimately succeed is if the private sector is fully invested in this future — if capital comes off the sidelines and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs is unleashed. And the only way to do that is by finally putting a price on carbon pollution.”http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-economy-carnegie-mellon-university
 
Gillian Caldwell
Campaign Director, 1Sky
T (301) 270-4550 x221  *  C (202) 446-8811
www.1sky.org  * gillian@1sky.org * www.twitter.com/gillian1Sky
 
1Sky: 1 Climate. 1 Future. 1 Chance.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.bnd.com/2010/06/05/1282619/oil-drilling-a-defining-issue.html

Saturday, Jun. 05, 2010

By WILLIAM E. GIBSON – Sun Sentinel

 WASHINGTON — While oil washing up on Florida Panhandle beaches from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico poses the most immediate danger to the state, marine scientists warn that the most frightening threat to much of Florida is a future disaster if offshore drilling spreads farther south.

The spill has turned a long-standing national debate over the hazards and rewards of offshore drilling into a hot-button campaign issue, starting with Florida’s nationally watched Senate race.
Just three weeks before the spill, President Barack Obama proposed opening a vast tract to energy exploration directly in the path of a powerful loop current that carries water from the Gulf of Mexico to the East Coast.

Since the spill, Obama has put that plan on hold by suspending for six months new energy exploration in deep waters along the nation’s coastline. Obama’s future policy may be swayed by the findings of a special commission co-chaired by former Florida Senator Bob Graham.

Yet once the nation’s largest spill is contained, pressures to drill are bound to resume as the energy industry and its allies in Congress press to meet the rising demand for oil and natural gas. Florida’s next senator likely will play a prominent role in that debate.

Marco Rubio, a Republican candidate, reflects those who want to learn from this disaster, take safety precautions and move ahead to tap coastal waters. He is intent on making the United States less dependent on foreign oil, especially from nations like Venezuela that have strained relations with this country.

The energy industry has reinforced Rubio’s position with $44,400 of campaign contributions, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group.

Democrat Kendrick Meek sees the spill as a warning of worse disasters to come if drilling is allowed to spread. He is touting his long-standing opposition to near-shore drilling, hoping voter revulsion to the spill will carry him to the Senate.

Meek has received just $5,900 from oil and gas interests during the 2009-2010 campaign.

Gov. Charlie Crist, an independent Senate candidate, reflects Floridians who once welcomed the prospect of jobs and revenue from a growing energy industry but have become disillusioned by the spill and its impact on tourism. Crist has received $13,600 from the energy industry.

Crist has gone from receptiveness to drilling near Florida to trying to ban it forever. He has called for a constitutional ban on drilling in state waters, which extend 10 miles from the Gulf shore.

The current spill defeated the notion that drilling comes without risk, but it leaves the political question of whether the need and reward are so great that the risk is worth taking.

Scientists say they hope political leaders in Washington and Tallahassee take into account the ocean currents when they determine where drilling will be allowed.

“It’s going to be hard to wean ourselves from oil,” acknowledged Frank Muller-Karger, an oceanographer and expert on Gulf currents at the University of South Florida. “People want cheap gas and don’t want to import from other nations.”

“But we need to better understand the risks,” Muller-Karger said. “If there’s a spill and it enters the loop current, it will spread the mess much farther, quicker. We in Florida would be in the same situation that Louisiana is in right now. The areas closer to the spill will get the worst of it almost always.”

Those tracking the spill say it still poses dangers for South Florida, especially if the destroyed well keeps gushing for months and underwater plumes reach the East Coast.

But they say this region may be spared the worst of the spill because it occurred north of the loop current. So far, only small patches have drifted into its path.

The most likely result for South Florida will be tar balls that pass through the Florida Straits, baked by the sun and less toxic after weeks of exposure to water and weather.

If so, the environmental damage to Florida south of the Panhandle will be limited, but the debate over the future of offshore drilling will continue.

Whoever wins the Senate race will find a toxic political environment on Capitol Hill, where pressures to drill are relentless but opposition has hardened.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, Fla., calls the disaster an “I-told-you-so moment” that should reunite Florida’s congressional delegation against offshore drilling.

The state’s once-solid opposition fragmented in recent years when some Florida Republicans bowed to party pressure to expand offshore resources. Republicans in Tallahassee, Fla., and Washington hoped that exploration would produce jobs and oil revenue to plug gaps in the state budget.

Since the spill, drilling proponents have focused on finding the cause and developing precautions that would allow exploration to safely continue.

For those who believe offshore production is a fact of life, it’s just a matter of time before drilling regains political momentum.
“I think the politicians recognize that you just can’t stop production,” said Eric Hamilton, associate director of the Florida Petroleum Council, an industry group that lobbies in Tallahassee for more drilling. “The oil and gas has to come from somewhere.”

Special thanks to Richard Charter

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0613745520100606?type=marketsNews
Protesters at BP gas station call for boycott of company
* Protest called after oil washes up on Pensacola beach
Sun Jun 6, 2010 5:55pm EDT
12:00am PDT

By Michael Peltier
PENSACOLA, Fla., June 6 (Reuters) – Demonstrators converged on a BP (BP.L) service station in Pensacola on Sunday to protest the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill now affecting northwest Florida.

Several dozen people, including an Elvis impersonator, joined in the protest aimed at mobilizing support for a boycott of the company now responsible for sending oil onto their prized Panhandle beaches.

“I’ve been trying to keep drilling out of Florida waters since the 1990s,” said Pamela Corey, a high school English teacher.

“But so what. You can still drill in Louisiana and it shows up here,” Corey said.

For many, the man-made environmental disaster is the latest in a series of misfortunes to hit Florida including hurricanes and a housing market bust.

“(Hurricane) Ivan (in 2004) took my roof off, the housing market took my business and my house and now this is hampering my comeback,” said Bill Paul, a Pensacola resident with three young children who has scrapped plans to open a restaurant.

“But that’s my personal situation,” Paul added. “To me, this is more about the environment.”

Protester Chris Slick said he felt compelled to help organize Sunday’s demonstration after seeing tar balls wash up on Pensacola Beach and its famous sugar-white sands on Friday.
Until then, Florida had escaped the oil spewing into the Gulf since the April 20 explosion and fire aboard the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

“BP had more than 40 days to get an effort ready and it’s not ready,” Slick said.
Others said government oversight was lacking.

“The bottom line is deregulation caused this,” Pensacola resident Gwen Ward said. “And now we have to put regulation back in force and do whatever we can to clean it up.”

Elvis Presley impersonator David Suhor stopped by the BP station to support the protesters and drum up some business.

“It’s now or never,” Suhor crooned to passersby, many of whom honked horns in support.
(Editing by Eric Beech)  Special thanks to Richard Charter