Some oil spill events from Monday, July 12, 2010

Some oil spill events from Monday, July 12, 2010

A summary of events Monday, July 12, Day 83 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.

NEW CAP

Undersea robots maneuvered a mile beneath the Gulf to delicately lower a new, tighter-fitting cap over BP’s busted well — a fix the oil giant hopes can finally stop the leak after nearly three months. The new cap, a 150,000-pound metal stack, was about 300 feet from where it’s supposed to be installed on top of the leaking well, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said. A swarm of remote-controlled robots moved around heavy equipment near the seafloor on live video provided online by BP. It was not clear how close the cap was to the well, but Suttles said the operation was complex and could take longer than they expect.

NEXT STEP

BP’s new cap is designed to snap into place atop the well, held by a connecting piece that was installed overnight on top of the well pipe, said Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute. Once the cap is firmly in place, the company will begin closing perforated pipe at the top to see if the pressure rises inside the cap. If it does, that means there are no other leaks, and the cap is stopping oil from leaking into the Gulf. lower pressure readings may indicate leaking elsewhere in the well. In that case, Suttles said, the company will work to collect the leak with surface vessels and by dropping yet another cap on top of the stack. The testing should last about 48 hours, Suttles said.

STILL FLOWING

Oil could still be seen flowing freely from the top of the well where the cap will be attached. BP executive Suttles was careful to keep expectations grounded, stressing that once the cap is in place, it will take days to know whether it can withstand the pressure of the erupting oil and feed it through pipes to surface ships. The cap and vessels together make up BP’s plan to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf for the first time since April 20.

MORATORIUM

The Obama administration was issuing a new revised moratorium on offshore drilling Monday. Two administration officials have told The Associated Press of the plans. Both requested anonymity so as not to pre-empt the official announcement. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected the government’s effort to restore its initial offshore deepwater drilling moratorium, which halted the approval of any new permits for deepwater projects and suspended drilling on 33 exploratory wells. It was first rejected last month by U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at the time that he would issue a new, refined moratorium.

COMMISSION

The presidential panel that is supposed to find out the cause of the Gulf oil spill is starting by focusing more on the response and impact. Monday was the start of a two-day New Orleans hearing by the National Oil Spill Commission. Amid interruptions by protesters, the talk from oil executives, experts and regular people was more about the aftermath of the spill than why it happened. Commissioners say that’s by design. They want to know the disaster’s impact.

MICHELLE OBAMA

First lady Michelle Obama arrived in Florida on Monday to meet with local community leaders and tourism officials. The Panhandle city recently opened a new international airport to draw additional tourists to the area, but the oil spill has kept many away — even though pollution on local beaches has been minor so far.

DRILLING REGULATOR

The former federal prosecutor who now heads the government agency that oversees offshore drilling says he is not afraid to fine lawbreaking oil companies or even put some executives in jail. But Michael Bromwich says he is not an anti-drilling zealot and will probably take actions that upset both industry groups and those who oppose drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and other sites. Bromwich says he comes at the matter straight down the middle. He spoke with The Associated Press in his first interview since being sworn in last month as head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement — formerly the Minerals Management Service.

EMERGENCY CHECKS

The head of the $20 billion oil spill compensation fund says individuals filing claims will soon begin receiving six-month emergency checks instead of monthly payments. Appearing in Pensacola Beach on Monday, fund administrator Kenneth Feinberg said the company will start paying individuals in six-month payments in the next couple of weeks. Feinberg also said there’s no reason for individuals affected by the massive Gulf of Mexico spill to file lawsuits — at least not yet. Feinberg urged claimants to see how much he’d be able to pay them for before suing.

BEACH CONCERTS

BP’s oil money may pay for a series of free beach concerts to lure tourists to the Alabama coast, where the Gulf spill has wrecked the summer season. Jimmy Buffett gave a free show on the beach Sunday that drew thousands to Gulf Shores. Officials say they hope to follow up with more big-name performers through the fall. Buffett performed for free and promoters hope other artists would also donate their time. Promoters say acts may include country singers Faith Hill and Zac Brown and soft rocker Jack Johnson. The money for staging the shows would come from funding BP gave Alabama and other Gulf states to promote tourism hurt by the oil company’s massive spill. BP’s tourism grant to Alabama was $15 million, of which $3.5 million paid for the Buffett concert.

BABY ANIMALS

The smallest victims are the biggest challenge for crews rescuing birds fouled with oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill. There’s no way to know how many chicks have been killed by the oil, or starved because their parents were rescued or died struggling in a slick. Chicks come in cold because oil has matted down the fluffy down that’s meant to keep them warm. They must be warmed quickly just to survive long enough to be cleaned. And the youngest pelican chicks must be taught to eat. On the other hand, baby sea turtles — the vast majority of more than 100 rescued — are much easier to handle than adults. The babies weigh only a few pounds, while the two adults brought in weighed 85 and 150 pounds.