Gulf of Mexico

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>

Tropical Storm Expected to Miss Oil Spill (for Now)

Alex's path could change quickly

(Newser) - Cross your fingers: The first tropical storm of the season has formed in the Caribbean. Alex is expected to pass over the Yucatan Peninsula this weekend, and while current forecast models say it won't pass over the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, its path could change once it...

Storm Could Stop Spill Cleanup for 2 Weeks

'Top hat' would have to be turned off, releasing 840K extra gallons

(Newser) - A looming hurricane could force workers scrambling to slow or stop the Gulf oil spill back to shore—and release even more oil into the water, the Miami Herald reports. A weather system in the west-central Caribbean has a 70% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone over the weekend....

Drunk Man Drifts a Mile Out to Sea on Pool Float

At least he was wearing his life jacket

(Newser) - A man on a pool float was rescued after having drifted a mile into the Gulf of Mexico, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Police suspect he was "extremely inebriated," and note that he was saved only when a boater called the Coast Guard about an unconscious man floating...

Gulf Cleanup Captain Commits Suicide

Spill taking heavy emotional toll on fishing communities

(Newser) - A charter boat captain hired to help with the Gulf cleanup effort killed himself on board his vessel yesterday. Allen "Rookie" Kruse had been running fishing tours from an Alabama port for more than 20 years. Friends and family say the 55-year-old had become despondent over the spill's impact...

BP Response Plan Was Based on Surface Spills

Government models weren't updated for deepwater drilling

(Newser) - BP's response to the Gulf spill was based on outdated government-provided models that were proven wrong by scientists before they were proven wrong by the disaster. The Minerals Management Service predictions—which didn't even address how oil would behave when spilled a mile under the surface—gave very low odds...

Glitch Sends More Oil Gushing Into Gulf

BP has to remove containment cap after robot bumps it

(Newser) - Another BP glitch in the Gulf has sent what appears to be significantly more oil gushing into the ocean. The company had to remove its containment cap today after a robot sub bumped into the venting system, reports NBC . BP hopes to have it back in place later today, but...

Salazar Plans New Drilling Ban

Moratorium will be back in place 'within days'

(Newser) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, hours after a judge blocked the moratorium on deepwater drilling , announced that a new one is on the way. Salazar says he will order a new ban "within days"to ensure there's no repeat of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Reuters reports. "We see clear...

Deepwater Horizon Owner Slams Drilling Ban
 Deepwater 
 Horizon Owner 
 Slams Drilling Ban
Judge may overrrule obama
Jun 22, 2010 5:45 AM CDT

Deepwater Horizon Owner Slams Drilling Ban

Industry could get back to work tomorrow, says Transocean boss

(Newser) - The owner of the busted rig spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico is itching to get back to work. Transocean chief Steven Newman slammed the Obama administration's 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling at an oil conference today, the AP reports. There are things the administration "could implement today...

Gulf Shrimpers, Out of a Job, Work for BP

Oil giant pays victims competitive wages to clean up its mess

(Newser) - For shrimpers on the Gulf of Mexico unable to practice their trade because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one employment option remains: working for BP, the company that destroyed their livelihood. The oil giant's "Vessels of Opportunity" program covers costs and pays trawlers close to what they would...

Dead Whale Found South of Oil Spill

It's still unclear if the oil caused the death

(Newser) - A dead sperm whale has been found floating 77 miles south of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not yet clear whether exposure to oil caused the animal's death, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is conducting tests. The whale was found yesterday, but its...

Oil Spill May Wipe Out Just Discovered Species

Little pancake batfish could be first victim

(Newser) - Just months after scientists celebrated the discovery of a bizarre new ocean species it's already facing being obliterated by the BP oil spill. The Louisiana pancake batfish, or halieutichthys aculeatus, could be the first victim of the Gulf catastrophe. The tiny blob of a fish, with bulbous eyes and foot-like...

BP Agrees to Create $20B Fund for Spill Victims

Top company execs meet at White House with Obama

(Newser) - BP has agreed to finance a $20 billion fund to pay the claims of people whose jobs and way of life have been damaged by the Gulf oil spill, senior administration officials say. The independent fund will be led by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of victims...

Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay'
 Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay' 
Jun 15, 2010 7:35 PM CDT

Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay'

He accuses company of 'recklessness'

(Newser) - President Obama accused BP of "recklessness" in the first Oval Office address of his presidency tonight and swore not to rest until the company has paid for the damage it has caused to lives, businesses, and shorelines. He announced that he had asked former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus to...

Oil Spill Estimate Surges (Again)

Ceiling is now 60K barrels a day, up from 40K

(Newser) - Another talking point for the president tonight: Government scientists have once again raised the estimate of how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. The well is spewing between 1.47 million and 2.52 million gallons a day, or somewhere between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels....

Oil Giants All Have Same Lame Spill Plan: Dems
 Oil Giants All 
 Have Same Lame 
 Spill Plan: Dems 
Grilling Big Oil
Jun 15, 2010 1:20 PM CDT

Oil Giants All Have Same Lame Spill Plan: Dems

Companies argue spill was a fluke

(Newser) - Lord help us if there’s another deepwater spill, because the big oil companies all have a pretty much identical response plan to BP, congressional Democrats complained today, grilling executives from Chevron, Exxon, Shell, BP, and Conoco Phillips. All the companies hired the same third party to draft their plans,...

2-Way Tweeting Helps Louisiana Monitor Spill
2-Way Tweeting Helps Louisiana Monitor Spill 
OPINION
Jun 14, 2010 4:35 PM CDT

2-Way Tweeting Helps Louisiana Monitor Spill

Emergency agency makes good use of give-and-take with followers

(Newser) - Like a lot of other government agencies, Louisiana's emergency-preparedness office uses its Twitter feed to keep citizens updated on issues like the Gulf oil spill. In a neat twist, the office is following thousands of its own followers, "something that a lot of government agencies in the emergency area...

Oil Flow Estimates Double (Again) to 25K Barrels a Day

Which makes the damage, already, 5 to 6 times the Exxon Valdez

(Newser) - Two teams of scientists working for the federal government have upped the estimates of oil flowing from the crippled Deepwater Horizon well again—this time to 25,000 to 40,000, or even 50,000, barrels a day. In case you're trying to keep track, the earlier team said 12,...

AP Journalist Takes a Dive in the Oily Gulf

(Newser) - Intrepid AP journalist Rich Matthews took an oily dip into the Gulf and found it to be quite a scary experience. Five seconds into the dive his mask was smeared with oil. Below the surface, he could see only oil; there was nothing alive under the slick. It was dark...

BP: It Will Soon Be Only a 'Trickle'

Company optimistic amid growing skepticism

(Newser) - On a day when skepticism about BP's oil-cleaning ways is at a high pitch, take this for what it's worth: The company tells AP that the gushing oil "should be down to a relative trickle by Monday or Tuesday." (Or maybe the key word is "relative."...

Older Spill Releasing 'Small Amounts'

This one stems from Hurricane Ivan in 2004

(Newser) - A second spill in the Gulf? Sort of. Federal officials say a group of wells have been leaking "small amounts of oil" since Hurricane Ivan roared through in 2004. Ivan brought down a production platform about 10 miles off the Louisiana coast, and 26 wells have since been leaking...

Stories 121 - 140 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser