Michael Bromwich, the nation’s head oil and gas drilling regulator, lashed out at the oil industry Tuesday for spreading what he calls politically motivated lies and distortions about the federal government’s speed in approving new offshore drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico.
After a remarkable four-hour meeting between the White House Administration and BP’s top executives, the oil giant has agreed to create a $20 billion fund to pay damage claims filed by thousands of fishermen and others economically harmed by the oil slick washing up on the shores of four Gulf states.
Tensions continue to mount between BP and the federal government, first over the oil giant’s failure to stop its oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico (the next attempt to contain the spill has been delayed until Wednesday) and now its insistence on using chemical oil dispersants in quantities that trouble regulators.
The Environmental Protection Agency gave BP on Wednesday 24 hours to find an oil dispersant less toxic than the ones it has been spraying in massive quantities above the Gulf of Mexico and under the surface. The EPA requested that BP provide it with a list of available dispersants and begin using the new dispersants within 72 hours.
A leading oilfield services provider says that BP hired it to test the cement linings on the Deepwater Horizon’s drill column, but quit the testing and sent the crew home before its work was completed. Eleven hours later, natural gas blasted up the well and set off a series of giant explosions that sank what was supposed to be one of the most technologically advanced offshore rigs in the Gulf.
Environmental Protection Agency officials are reviewing BP’s troubled record of drilling for oil on U.S. soil and federal waters to determine whether the company should be barred from receiving government contracts. Such a move, if it comes to pass, could cost the company billions of dollars in revenue.
Executives from BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and other corporations tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee today trying to explain why their “failproof” systems failed, creating an unprecedented threat to the wildlife, industries and communities along the Gulf Coast.
The Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service allowed the oil industry to write federal policy governing the implementation of safety systems and backups, according to a New York Times report.
As the Deepwater Horizon oil slick looms in the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles south of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Northwest Florida coasts, the area’s tourism industry has already felt an enormous impact. Except for parts of Louisiana by the Mississippi River Delta, no oil has washed ashore in the threatened area, but already the hotels are swamped with reservation postponements and cancellations, sport fishing and scuba diving boats sit idly in marinas, and hundreds of restaurants and shops are burdened by empty tables and vacant aisles.
BP CEO Tony Hayward has said that his company will pay for all “legitimate” damages caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but those expenses are impossible to calculate as the site continues to spew more than 200,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico every day. As the costs escalate, both the White House and Congress are taking measures to ensure that BP adequately compensates for the economic damage that is bound to occur in the volatile communities along the Gulf Coast and possibly beyond.
