British Petroleum

Stories 221 - 240 | << Prev   Next >>

BP Oil Rig Had Months of Safety Worries

Well was fraught with problems going back to June 2009

(Newser) - Most of us just woke up one April day to the news that an oil rig had exploded in the Gulf, but BP knew of safety concerns at least 10 months before that, according to documents obtained by the New York Times. The highlights:
  • In June 2009, BP engineers worried
...

BP Turns to Containment Valve
 BP Turns to Containment Valve  
May 30, 2010 5:56 AM CDT

BP Turns to Containment Valve

Experts think containment valve might make things worse

(Newser) - BP is hurriedly devising yet another mix of risky undersea robot maneuvers and containment devices to fight the worst oil spill in US history, after the most ambitious bid yet to stop the Gulf of Mexico gusher ended in failure. Now, BP hopes to saw through a pipe leading out...

BP Abandons 'Top Kill'
 BP Abandons 'Top Kill'  
obama: it's 'heartbreaking'
May 29, 2010 5:35 PM CDT

BP Abandons 'Top Kill'

It failed, and company will now try other options

(Newser) - Bad news from the Gulf this afternoon: BP is calling off its "top kill" operation after it failed to plug the oil leak in several attempts. "We have made the decision to move onto the next option," said chief operating officer Doug Suttles. President Obama called the...

'Top Kill' Isn't Working
 'Top Kill' Isn't Working 
May 29, 2010 1:56 PM CDT

'Top Kill' Isn't Working

Operation again halted as flow of oil continues

(Newser) - BP's efforts to plug the leak aren't working. The latest "junk shot" failed to stop the flow of oil last night, and engineers have once again halted the "top kill" pumping while they review data, reports the New York Times . "Right now, I would not be optimistic,...

Feds Move Toward Criminal Inquiry of BP

Investigators looking into whether it skirted federal law

(Newser) - The Justice Department appears to be very serious about bringing criminal charges against BP. A preliminary investigation is under way into whether the company skirted federal safety laws and then misled officials about its ability to plug the leak, reports the Los Angeles Times . Such investigations are often formalities, but...

It's Obama's 'Weakest Hour'

 It's 
 Obama's 
 'Weakest 
 Hour' 
dana milbank
May 29, 2010 10:54 AM CDT

It's Obama's 'Weakest Hour'

He delivers a few too many mea culpas

(Newser) - It's nice to finally have a president who's willing to take responsibility, writes Dana Milbank, but at his press conference Thursday, Obama "practiced every form of self-flagellation short of bringing out a cat-o'-nine-tails." OK, you take responsibility. "That's very clear, sir. But why not share some with...

Local Officials: BP Staged Workers for Obama Visit

Call big beach crew a 'dog and pony show'

(Newser) - When President Obama visited Grand Isle beach in Louisiana yesterday, he was treated to the spectacle of hundreds of workers hired by BP cleaning up the beach. Never had so many been on the job before, and shortly after the president left, they did, too. All of which has some...

US Watches, Waits
 US Watches Top Kill, Waits 
May 29, 2010 6:15 AM CDT

US Watches Top Kill, Waits

Millions captivated by the spillcam look for progress

(Newser) - Two days after BP began a risky effort to plug its gushing oil well, company officials said the operation was going as planned but offered few details, leaving it up to the millions glued to its "spillcam" to speculate whether the top kill was working. Most experts saw incremental...

BP Resumes Effort to Plug Leak

After another unannounced suspension

(Newser) - BP resumed its "top kill" operation late this afternoon after the second straight day of an unannounced suspension and mixed messages. They continue to say they will need 24 to 48 hours for a final verdict. Energy Secretary Steven Chu tells the Washington Post there's "some evidence" that...

BP Suspends 'Top Kill' Again
 BP Suspends 'Top Kill' Again 
May 28, 2010 2:57 PM CDT

BP Suspends 'Top Kill' Again

'Junk shots' don't stop the flow of oil

(Newser) - BP has once again temporarily halted the "top kill" operation after efforts to stem the flow of oil failed. As happened yesterday about this time, the news comes not from BP but from a technician talking to the New York Times . The company reportedly shut down the well at...

Blame Environmentalists! (For Very Different Reasons)
Blame Environmentalists!
(For Very Different Reasons)
opposing views
May 28, 2010 1:21 PM CDT

Blame Environmentalists! (For Very Different Reasons)

They're apparently either too passive or too aggressive

(Newser) - Environmentalists just can't catch a break in today's op-ed pages of the Washington Post. Charles Krauthammer blames their aggressiveness for contributing to the Gulf oil spill, while Eugene Robinson criticizes their passivity. Robinson's point is that while green-leaning people are good with the easy stuff (recycling and fluorescent light bulbs)...

Obama Visits Louisiana Beach
 Obama Visits Louisiana Beach 
May 28, 2010 12:39 PM CDT

Obama Visits Louisiana Beach

He's getting a formal briefing this afternoon

(Newser) - President Obama visited a beach on the coast of Louisiana today to see the damage first-hand. "These are the tar balls that everyone's been talking about,'' said the president, who will address the media after a formal briefing. "Obviously, until we can stop the flow (of oil...

BP Deserves Our Praise

 BP Deserves 
 Our Praise 
OPINION
May 28, 2010 10:26 AM CDT

BP Deserves Our Praise

Oil giant has actually responded pretty splendidly to crisis

(Newser) - Sure, it's easy to beat up on BP, which is ultimately responsible for a disaster that killed 11 people and is laying waste to the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem. But "my purpose today is not to bury BP but to praise it," writes Steven Pearlstein of the Washington ...

Top Kill Working for Now (Again)

'Junk shot' has also been deployed

(Newser) - BP has fired off its “junk shot” and resumed pumping heavy fluid into the spewing Deepwater Horizon well, which appears to have staunched the flow of oil, Adm. Thad Allen, who's in charge of overseeing the spill for the Coast Guard, said today on Good Morning America, though he...

BP Resumes 'Top Kill'
 BP Resumes 'Top Kill'  
May 27, 2010 7:13 PM CDT

BP Resumes 'Top Kill'

Initial efforts didn't stop the flow of oil

(Newser) - It's "top kill," take two. BP has resumed pumping dense mud into its blown-out well in the Gulf, reports CNN . The company began the procedure yesterday but said it suspended it about midnight to assess progress. Despite some positive reports to the contrary this morning, the initial efforts...

BP Suspends 'Top Kill'
 BP Suspends 'Top Kill' 
May 27, 2010 4:20 PM CDT

BP Suspends 'Top Kill'

First two efforts didn't stop the flow of oil

(Newser) - The "top kill" operation is on hold, and oil is still gushing from the floor of the Gulf. BP says it hopes to try again later tonight. News of the suspension, first reported by the New York Times in the late afternoon, came as something of a surprise after...

Obama May Have Boxed Himself Into a Corner
Obama May Have Boxed Himself Into a Corner
quick takes
May 27, 2010 2:53 PM CDT

Obama May Have Boxed Himself Into a Corner

Now all the blame will go to White House instead of BP

(Newser) - President Obama sought to reassure the public today that the White House has been on top of the oil spill from the get-go. Some early reaction to his news conference:
  • Brian Wingfield, Forbes : "The public outcry over the disaster has left the administration little choice but to take ownership
...

Karl Rove: This Is Obama's Katrina
 Karl Rove: This Is 
 Obama's Katrina 
opinion
May 27, 2010 12:58 PM CDT

Karl Rove: This Is Obama's Katrina

In fact, it may be worse

(Newser) - Take it from Karl Rove: The Gulf oil spill is not only President Obama's Katrina, it "could be even worse." The "lethargic" response is bad enough, but he points out in the Wall Street Journal that this is happening in federal waters. On Katrina, he says President...

Obama: Feds Are in Charge of Cleanup

And critics of his Gulf response 'don't know the facts'

(Newser) - President Obama asserted today that the federal government is, and always has been, in charge of Gulf oil cleanup. "Make no mistake: BP is operating at our direction," he said at a news conference, reiterating that the company is responsible for the bill. It's "an unprecedented disaster,...

'Top Kill' Stops Oil Flow Into Gulf

But Coast Guard won't call it a success until the cement is in

(Newser) - BP's “top kill” plan has at least temporarily stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard admiral in charge of overseeing the spill said this morning. The drilling fluid engineers pumped into the pipe yesterday has blocked all oil and gas from the well,...

Stories 221 - 240 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser