Gulf Oil Spill Coverage
La. Gov: $340M More From BP For Gulf Restoration
May 1, 2013 2:23 pm | by Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press | News | CommentsBP PLC has agreed to pay $340 million to restore four of the barrier islands that act as hurricane buffers for Louisiana's mainland and create two fish research hatcheries in the state, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday. The money is part of $1 billion the oil giant agreed two years ago to pay for early restoration work after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
NYC Sues BP Over Pension Fund Losses
April 26, 2013 2:02 pm | News | CommentsNew York City is suing BP over the drop in its stock price after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying its pension funds lost $39 million. The lawsuit in federal court in New York claims BP failed to tell shareholders about the risks of its offshore drilling, and that after the spill it tried to minimize the cost to shareholders.
Oil Spill Judge: What Is Gross Negligence?
April 25, 2013 2:20 pm | News | CommentsThe Justice Department and private plaintiffs' attorneys contend that BP PLC acted with gross negligence before the blowout on April 20, 2010. If U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier agrees, BP's civil penalties could soar. The blowout triggered an explosion that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.
Business Spill Claims Can Be Paid While BP Appeals
April 23, 2013 12:25 pm | News | CommentsA court-appointed claims administrator can continue making payments to businesses affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico while BP appeals a judge's decision in a dispute over the payouts.A three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected BP's request for a stay.
Haliburton Seeking Settlement Over Gulf Oil Spill
April 22, 2013 11:28 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsHalliburton Chief Financial Officer Mark McCollum said during a conference call Monday that talks are at an "advanced stage." The Houston-based company says it hopes to resolve a substantial portion of private claims spawned after the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon.
Miss. Becomes 3rd State To Sue BP For Oil Spill
April 19, 2013 2:20 pm | by Jeff Amy, Associated Press | News | CommentsAttorney General Jim Hood announced Friday that Mississippi had filed suits in federal and state court. The move comes one day before the three-year statute of limitations expires for claims related to the April 20, 2010 explosion and subsequent spill.
BP Manager Testifies At Trial Over Gulf Oil Spill
April 15, 2013 2:03 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA BP team leader who supervised managers on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says he was frustrated by last-minute changes to the drilling project but didn't have any safety concerns before the deadly blast. John Guide was the first witness to testify Monday as a trial over the disaster entered its eighth week.
Ex-BP Engineer Responds To 'Farcical' Claims
April 11, 2013 2:08 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about the company's response to its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico claims federal prosecutors have tacked on "farcical" allegations that he also deleted dozens of voicemails to stymie a grand jury probe of the disaster.
BP Appeals Judge's Ruling In Gulf Spill Settlement
April 4, 2013 1:38 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsBP on Wednesday asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review last month's ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who appointed Lafayette attorney Patrick Juneau to serve as claims administrator for a multibillion-dollar settlement between BP and a team of private plaintiffs' attorneys.
Cameron Dismissed From Trial Over Gulf Oil Spill
April 4, 2013 9:29 am | News | CommentsWednesday's ruling by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier means Cameron International is no longer a defendant in an ongoing trial designed to identify causes of BP's well blowout and assign fault to the companies involved. BP PLC, rig owner Transocean Ltd. and cement contractor Halliburton are the remaining defendants.
La. Man Gets Prison For Plot To Defraud BP
April 3, 2013 1:40 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA businessman was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison for a plot in which he fraudulently billed BP for roughly $1.4 million for use of a helicopter after the company's massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bay Ingram, who owned Southeast Recovery Group, had faced a maximum of five years in prison following his guilty plea last year to a conspiracy charge.
Claims Administrator Seeks Dismissal Of BP Lawsuit
April 2, 2013 7:45 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe suit that BP filed last month accuses Patrick Juneau of violating the settlement's terms in the way he is using a complex formula to determine payments to businesses affected by the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In a court filing Monday, Juneau argued he is entitled to immunity from BP's suit.
BP's Cement Contractor Denies Destroying Evidence
March 27, 2013 7:57 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn a court filing, Halliburton attorneys accused BP PLC of trying to create a "sideshow" during an ongoing trial over the deadly disaster. They also argued BP is trying to deflect attention from its own actions. The explosion led to the deaths of 11 rig workers and triggered the nation's worst offshore oil spill.
BP Seeks Sanctions Over Missing Cement Samples
March 22, 2013 10:13 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsBP asked a federal judge Thursday to sanction its cement contractor on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling project, accusing the company of withholding critical evidence that could have been used at the ongoing trial over the nation's worst offshore oil spill.
Gulf Seafood Update: An Industry Regains Its Sea Legs
March 21, 2013 1:48 pm | by Lindsey Jahn, Associate Editor, Food Manufacturing | Articles | CommentsWhen the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April 2010, 4.9 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, bringing the area’s seafood industry to a halt. Nearly three years later, Gulf seafood players stand united with plans to make the industry stronger than ever.
Claims Against BP Contractors Dismissed At Trial
March 21, 2013 7:53 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA federal judge conducting a trial to assign fault for the nation's worst offshore oil spill dismissed claims Wednesday against a BP contractor and the company that made a key safety device on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering the disaster.
Transocean CEO: Rig Workers Should Have Done More
March 20, 2013 7:54 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsTransocean employees should have done more to detect signs of trouble before the company's drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 workers and triggering the nation's worst offshore oil spill, Transocean's chief executive testified Tuesday.
BP Seeks To Block Gulf Spill Settlement Payments
March 18, 2013 8:03 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsBP sued Friday to block what could be billions of dollars in settlement payouts to businesses over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The London-based oil giant accused the court-appointed administrator for the settlement, Patrick Juneau, of trying to rewrite the terms of the deal.
BP Contractor Finds Cement Samples Midtrial
March 14, 2013 1:57 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsA lawyer for the cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon drilling project says the company has found cement samples possibly associated with BP's Macondo well that weren't turned over to the Justice Department for testing. In an email to the court late Wednesday, Godwin says Halliburton is investigating whether the material should have been turned over in response to subpoenas.
Worker: Rig Was Bustling Before BP Well Blowout
March 13, 2013 2:19 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsJoseph Keith, the second rig worker to testify in person at a federal trial over the disaster, said he never saw any indications that a blowout was brewing before drilling mud started raining down on the rig floor just before the blast. The blowout triggered an explosion that killed 11 men.
Halliburton Exec Testifies At Gulf Spill Trial
March 12, 2013 7:55 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsAn executive from the company that was BP's cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig testified Monday that he learned of some "irregularities" in tests that the contractor's employees performed after the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP Warns Of Rising Costs From Spill Settlement
March 8, 2013 11:25 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe London-based oil giant estimated last year it would spend roughly $7.8 billion to resolve tens of thousands of claims covered by the settlement agreement. But in a regulatory filing this week, BP PLC said businesses' claims have been paid at much higher average amounts than anticipated.
Transocean Rebuffs Icahn Proposals
March 7, 2013 11:07 am | News | CommentsSwiss-based Transocean Ltd. owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, triggering the nation's worst offshore oil spill. The company recently reached an agreement with the Justice Department over its role in the massive oil spill.
Rig Owner Cites BP's Low Flow Estimates
March 4, 2013 8:32 am | by Kevin McGill, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe owner of the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says BP hampered efforts to stop the resulting gusher of oil by misleading government officials about how many barrels of oil were flowing each day from the damaged well on the Gulf floor.
BP Exec Outlines Internal Probe Of Gulf Spill
February 28, 2013 11:20 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | CommentsOnce the object of ridicule and focus of outrage after the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, former BP chief executive Tony Hayward made a cameo appearance Wednesday in a trial to decide how much blame the company must shoulder for the disaster.
