Some oil spill events from Sunday, July 4, 2010

Some oil spill events from Sunday, July 4, 2010

A summary of events Sunday, July 4, Day 75 of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began with the April 20 explosion and fire on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well.

CHOPPY FOURTH

Cleanup crews surveyed damage done by last week’s hurricane while contending with choppy seas that idled many of the boats dedicated to keeping oil from hitting vulnerable beaches and marshes. Offshore skimming vessels were able to operate in Louisiana waters, but not off the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The current spate of bad weather is likely to last well into next, according to the National Weather Service.

BEACH CLEANING CARRIES ON

Beach cleanup crews were making progress on new oil that washed up thanks to the high tides generated by last week’s bad weather. In Grand Isle, La., about 800 people were removing tar balls and liquid oil from seven miles of beach, Coast Guard Cmdr. Randal Ogrydziak said. By Wednesday, Ogrydziak said they should have a machine on the beach that washes sand where the oil washed ashore. Crews have also been working to put containment boom thrown around by the storms back into place.

GOVERNMENT’S WEB

The US government is expected to take over control of the central information website on the Gulf oil spill response that has been run jointly by various agencies and BP for the 2½ months since the rig explosion. The Department of Homeland Security wants a one-stop shop for information that is completely overseen by the government. The U.S. Coast Guard falls under Homeland Security’s authority. The deepwaterhorizonresponse.com site may still be maintained during the changeover, but ultimately it will be taken down altogether.

SHIPWRECKS AT RISK

Not just flora and fauna are getting caked in oil. So is the Gulf of Mexico’s barnacled history of pirates, sea battles and World War II shipwrecks. The Gulf is lined with wooden shipwrecks, American-Indian shell midden mounds, World War II casualties, pirate colonies, historic hotels and old fishing villages. Within 20 miles of the well, there are several significant shipwrecks — ironically, discovered by oil companies’ underwater robots working the depths — and oil is most likely beginning to cascade on them.

MIDEAST INVESTORS

BP may be looking to sovereign wealth funds in the oil-rich Middle East to fend off takeover bids amid mounting costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil leak disaster, according to published reports. The National, an Emirati newspaper, cited unnamed “informed sources” in the region saying that Mideast financial institutions have submitted proposals to BP advisers and are waiting for a response. Among the options being considered are the acquisition of key assets or a direct cash injection to help strengthen the oil giant’s balance sheet.

(This version corrects the day of the spill to Day 75, instead of Day 74.)