Friday, July 30, 2010

Gulf Gusher Heading Out to Sea

As far as the government and MSM are concerned.

Related:
Globe Slowly Concealing Oil Slick

Mainstream Media Helps BP Pretend There's No Oil

That's why I do not like reading them anymore.

"Day 100: Embattled BP vows changes; Company looks to claim a $9.88b federal tax credit" by Harry R. Weber, Associated Press | July 29, 2010

NEW ORLEANS — One hundred days after the rig explosion that set off the worst offshore oil spill in US history, the oil company behind it is hoping to move beyond the losses, the gaffes, and the live video that ran for weeks of the busted well coughing up massive amounts of crude every second.

BP is replacing chief executive Tony Hayward with managing director Robert Dudley, selling $30 billion in assets, and setting aside $32.2 billion to cover the long-term cost of the spill. It is also claiming a $9.88 billion tax credit in the second quarter....

Also see: BP Skims Up Spill Tax Break

Hayward will step down Oct. 1 with benefits valued at more than $18 million. BP is recommending him for a nonexecutive board position at its Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.

Related: BP's New Slime

Same as the old slime.

Hayward said he had been “demonized and vilified’’ but had no major regrets about his leadership. “Life isn’t fair,’’ he said....

Oh, he's unbelievable!

Oil remains in the water....

Yeah, that's what I thought.

--more--"

"GULF NOTEBOOK

.... The 100 days since the April 20 explosion have been a gut-wrenching time for folks who work, play, and live along the Gulf Coast. These days, Thomas Barrios is working in the Vessels of Opportunity program, helping BP clean up the spill....

Hey, life isn't fair.


The restaurant is closed indefinitely. The daiquiri bar opens late each night to a trickle of customers....

The only thing that’s keeping the business afloat, he said ruefully, is that BP leased two of his rental homes and signed a catering contract with his closed restaurant. Besson, 61, is still optimistic that business will turn around and he’ll be able to reopen his restaurant. But for now, he’s actually hoping for a storm....

--Oil worker fears for future--"

"Team of federal investigators forms to launch criminal inquiry on spill" by Jerry Markon, Washington Post | July 30, 2010

WASHINGTON— A team of federal investigators known as the “BP squad’’ is assembling in New Orleans to conduct a wide-ranging criminal inquiry that will focus on at least three companies and examine whether their cozy relations with federal regulators contributed to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to law enforcement and other sources.

Another cover-up commission.

The squad at the FBI offices includes investigators from the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Coast Guard, and other federal agencies, the sources said.

In addition to BP, the firms at the center of the inquiry are Transocean, which leased the Deepwater Horizon rig to BP, and engineering giant Halliburton, which had finished cementing the well only 20 hours before the rig exploded on April 20, sources said.

Yeah, Halliburton has sure stayed out of the headlines, huh?

While it had been known that investigators are examining potential violations of environmental laws, it is now clear that they are also looking into whether company officials made false statements to regulators, obstructed justice, or falsified test results for devices such as the rig’s failed blowout preventer. It is unclear whether any such evidence has surfaced.

One emerging line of inquiry, sources said, is whether inspectors for the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency charged with regulating the oil industry — which is itself investigating the disaster — went easy on the companies in exchange for money or other inducements....

The emerging focus creates potentially awkward interactions on several levels. Investigators are probing companies, especially BP, that the government has been forced to work with in cleaning up the oil. And the former Minerals Management Service, which sources said has attracted the attention of criminal investigators, is helping to lead the federal panel that conducted last week’s hearings in Louisiana.

--more--"

Related:

"an inspector for the Minerals Management Service, which oversees drilling, admitted using crystal methamphetamine and said he might have been under the influence of the drug at work.... pornography on their government computers"

Yeah, AMAZING how that is MISSING from my report.

Related: Key step toward killing gulf gusher could happen sooner

Meanwhile, near the other end of the Mississippi:


"Firm doubles response to Mich. oil spill" by Associated Press | July 29, 2010

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A Canadian company operating a pipeline that leaked more than 800,000 gallons of oil into a southern Michigan river said yesterday that it is doubling its workforce on the containment and cleanup effort.

Officials with Enbridge Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, made the announcement during an update on the spill, which coated birds and fish as it poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, one of the state’s major waterways.

“We’ve made significant progress,’’ chief executive Patrick D. Daniel said. “But we still have a long way to go in terms of cleanup.’’

But BP cleaned up MILLIONS of gallons in MONTHS!

--more--"