BP permanently ‘kills’ Gulf of Mexico well

With a final shot of cement, BP Plc permanently “killed” the runaway Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico that had unleashed the worst oil spill in US history, the top US spill official said today.

The well flowed unchecked for 87 days after an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers and unleashed a torrent of oil that marred the coasts of four Gulf Coast states and spurred a moratorium on all new US offshore drilling.

BP cited for North Sea safety lapses as outgoing boss Tony Hayward faces grilling by MPs

BP's operations in the North Sea were investigated six months before the Gulf of Mexico explosion amid questions about staff safety training, it emerged today.

The Health and Safety Executive found new staff were not being trained to 'basic safety standards', according to a letter obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

Inspectors found several of the oil giant's installations in the North Sea had broken emergency rules for training staff on how to respond to spills.

Outgoing BP chief Tony Hayward is sure to be asked about the inadequate training when he appears before a Commons select committee today.


Safety lapses: Inspectors found BP was not training staff on its North Sea rigs properly six months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion

BP report shifts blame for Gulf of Mexico oil spill to American contractors-'There was a bad cement job':

BP triggered a further backlash last night as it tried to shift the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.

In a report released yesterday into the cause of the spill, the beleaguered British oil giant claims two other multinational companies were largely at fault.

The 193-page internal investigation plays down BP's culpability for America's worst ever oil leak, which took 87 days to plug and strained relations between the U.S. and Britain.


* BP highlights roles of Transocean and Halliburton
* 'Shoddy' cement caused gas & oil to enter well
* Oil rig workers took 40minutes to realise fault
* Explosion caused 5m barrels of oil to leak into Gulf

Findings: BP has admitted failures among its staff which led to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. A blow-out caused the biggest ever off-shore oil spill

U.S. offshore oil fire may delay lift of drill ban

The Obama Administration is likely to stay focused on toughening regulatory oversight of the U.S. offshore oil industry and may push back lifting a ban on deepwater drilling after the latest accident in the Gulf of Mexico, analysts said on Thursday.

Boats spray water to extinguish a fire on an oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy off the Louisiana coast September 2, 2010

13 oil workers pulled from sea after second offshore rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico

An offshore petroleum platform has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill.

U.S. Coast Guard officers received reports of the explosion at the rig which produces 1,400 barrels of oil a day from a commercial helicopter company at about 2.30pm today.

Seven helicopters, two aeroplanes and four boats were sent to the site, about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay off the central Louisiana coast.

Flashback: The explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig in April killed 11 workers and saw 206 million gallons of oil spill into the Gulf

Escape: The 13 workers are pictured shortly before they were rescued after evacuating the burning oil rig

Obama vows to finish US Gulf Coast recovery

US President Barack Obama pledged yesterday to finish restoring the Gulf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina, five years after the storm ravaged the region and hurt the credibility of his Republican predecessor.

Obama visited New Orleans — the city hardest hit by the disaster — with his family at the end of a week-and-a-half vacation on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

During the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Obama sharply criticised then-President George W. Bush for his administration’s slow response to the flooding and devastation that played out live on television.

People burn incense during a ceremony to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 29, 2010

Obama visit Gulf of Mexico , the job is not done yet.Obama speak about BP oil disaster recovery.

Obama, daughter swim in Gulf in act of reassurance

US President Barack Obama (L), First Lady Michelle Obama (R) and their daughter Sasha

US President Barack Obama and his daughter have taken a dip in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to reassure Americans that, despite a massive oil spill, its waters remain safe for tourists.

The president, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their younger daughter, Sasha, traveled to this Florida panhandle city to talk to local officials and business leaders, and highlight the region's tourist attractions.

"Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf," said Obama, speaking at a regional US Coast Guard headquarters.

"But I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is."

Gulf oil well seal holding, BP looks to final kill

BP said yesterday the cement seal on its crippled Gulf of Mexico oil well was holding and a relief well to permanently plug the ill-fated borehole was on track to reach its target in mid-August.

As the final stages of the long-awaited “kill” operation moved forward, nagging questions remained about the lasting environmental and economic impact to the US Gulf region from the world’s worst offshore oil accident.

More than 100 days after the start of the catastrophic spill that ravaged ecologically sensitive wetlands and lucrative coastal economies, BP said no oil was leaking from the undersea Macondo well and no “recoverable oil” was left on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

BP readies killer punch for world’s worst oil spill

BP tested equipment today to deliver the first of two planned killer punches to permanently plug its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well that caused the world’s worst accidental oil spill.

As engineers from the British-based company ironed out last-minute technical hitches before the initial “static kill” operation, which could take place today, new revised US government figures showed that almost five million barrels of oil leaked before the well was provisionally capped in mid-July.

BP begins 'static kill' operation in bid to finally seal Gulf of Mexico oil well

A boat motors through oil sheen from the Deepwater Horizon spill on Saturday. BP are launching a static kill operation to try and permanently seal the oil well


BP today launched an operation to permanently plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well with cement and mud in a bid to bring to an end the worst spill in U.S. history.

Engineers are set to begin a so-called 'static kill' procedure that will see a stream of mud and cement pumped into the well.

The mile-deep underground reservoir is currently temporarily sealed after a containment cap was placed over the well two weeks ago.

BP used excessive dispersants in Gulf oil spill expose toxic in seas.

New documents released by a congressional subcommittee indicate that Coast Guard officials allowed BP to use excessive amounts of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP used the chemicals to break up oil after the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion sent millions of gallons of crude gushing into the Gulf.

Key Ships Leave Oil Spill Site Ahead of Storm-Oil Spill News Investigation and Schwarzenegger on Mel Gibson: He's like the oil leak-DAY 94 Not Seen On TV BP Oil Disaster Government Investigatio

Tropical storm Bonnie forces BP to suspend relief well drilling

BP's efforts to finish relief oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico have been set back.

The approaching tropical storm Bonnie has forced BP to temporarily suspend drilling on its relief well in the Gulf of Mexico. Work to permanently plug the oil giant's leaking Macondo oil well, that has spewed more than 4m barrels of oil into the gulf, could be held up for up two weeks.

BP Photoshops ANOTHER oil spill image: Picture of helicopter flying over sea is removed from website after landing tower is spotted in background... and a bottle of water on the roof

The evidence: Blogger John Arovosis indicates misaligned Photoshopping under his written explanation

Spare a thought for BP's PR department.

As if they weren't already tasked with steering the company and its bungling bosses through the worst oil spill in history, now their job is being sabotaged by trigger-happy picture editors.

For the second time this week, doctored images have appeared on BP's oil leak response website.

Following this latest gaffe, the oil giant has told its post-production crew to 'refrain from doing cutting-and-pasting (sic) in the future'.

Predators circle BP, the stricken British giant-This great British company faces death by a thousand cuts

The political firestorm surrounding BP led to a roller-coaster ride for the company's shares on stock exchanges yesterday.

Rumours the firm could consider bankruptcy protection vied with speculation it had become a bid target.

On Wall Street last night BP's New York-listed shares staged a 9.5 per cent rebound on talk a rival could pounce. That followed a 16 per cent rout the evening before.

BP shares plunge after engineers detect seepage at capped Deepwater Horizon well

isatser: The explosion at Deepwater has forced BP into a major restructuring of their finances and the way they drill

Seepage: BP have been ordered to provide a plan for reopening its capped well in the Gulf of Mexico after engineers found seepage and possible methane gas near the leak site

The US government has ordered BP to provide a plan for reopening its capped well in the Gulf of Mexico after engineers found seepage and possible methane gas near the leak site.

The energy giant had wanted to test its cap until it could open relief wells to stop the flow of oil, but the discovery of seepage and possible methane gas near the site in the Gulf of Mexico means there could still be leaks.

BP shares rise 7% in hours as firm gets 'close' to capping oil leak and rival Exxon plans takeover bid

Down the plug: Workers onboard a BP platform drop in the tool that should help siphon the oil into tankers

If the cap fits: BP engineers hope to fit a new cap (left) on the leak, seen with robots at work on it today (right)

Shares in BP rose nearly 7 per cent today as the oil firm announced it had made progress towards stemming the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

The beleaguered company’s value was also pushed up by news that a rival is planning a hostile takeover bid.

This morning, within just a few hours of the market receiving the news that a cap fitting was ahead of schedule, share prices stood went up by 25p to £3.90.

BP denies Tony Hayward is on brink of resigning as cost of oil spill grows

 To resign, or not to resign? Russia's top energy official Igor Sechin, right, claimed today that under-fire BP CEO Tony Hayward, left, was about to step down - a claim that BP has since denied

BP has been forced to deny that embattled chief executive Tony Hayward is on the point of resigning, after comments made by a Russian politician.

Mr Hayward is widely expected to face the axe over the company's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and his own gaffes, such as going sailing while the oil continues to spill.

Oil worker 'alerted BP about rig fault' - but bosses feared cost of halting production, he say

The extent of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is clearly visible in this satellite picture taken last Friday and released today by Nasa. The oil appears as varying shades of white, as sunlight is reflected off its surface

Fire boats battle a fire at the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon on April 21 in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers died in the explosion

Day off: Mr Hayward on his yacht 'Bob' during the race around the Isle of Wight on Sarutday

Evidence was mounting last night that BP cut corners on safety on the rig at the centre of the catastrophic Gulf oil spill.

A worker on the Deepwater Horizon rig claims he flagged up a problem on the most critical piece of equipment weeks before the disaster. But managers did not fix it, said Tyrone Benton.

Instead they simply shut down the part that was not working and switched to an alternative part, a decision described as 'unacceptable' by experts. Soon after, on April 20, the rig exploded, killing 11 men and sending millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The critical safety device, known as the blowout preventer, failed. BP has repeatedly claimed that it did not put profits ahead of safety – the Deepwater rig cost the firm £337,000 a day to run.

But Mr Benton said in an interview with BBC's Panorama that he found a problem with the 'blind shear ram', a set of shears on the blowout preventer which close the well in the event of a disaster.

He noticed there was a leak on one of the two pods which contain the hydraulics and electronics that control the shears. 'We saw a leak on the pod, so by seeing the leak we informed the company men,' he said.