Some oil spill events from Sunday, July 25, 2010

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Some oil spill events from Sunday, July 25, 2010

A summary of events Sunday, July 25, Day 96 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 poured into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well until BP managed to stanch the leak — at least temporarily — with a massive cap.

BACK ON TRACK

The effort to plug BP’s leaky oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was back on track Sunday as the skies cleared and crews raced to stop the gusher for good before another storm halts the operation again. A drill rig was reconnecting to the relief tunnel that will be used to pump in mud and cement to seal the well, and drilling could resume in the next few days, BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said. A temporary plug has already held in the oil for nine days, and BP was able to leave it in place even after the government’s point man on the spill ordered ships working in the Gulf to evacuate ahead of Tropical Storm Bonnie late last week.

STORM SEASON

Bonnie fizzled on Louisiana’s coast, but as peak hurricane season approaches, the potential for another storm-related delay is high. “We’re going to be playing a cat-and-mouse game for the remainder of the hurricane season,” retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said. The season ends Nov. 30.

HAYWARD OUT?

British media reported that BP chief executive Tony Hayward is negotiating the terms of his departure ahead of the company’s half-year results announcement Tuesday. Citing unidentified sources, the BBC and Sunday Telegraph reported that detailed talks regarding Hayward’s future took place over the weekend. A formal announcement is expected in the next 24 hours, the BBC reported. BP spokesman Toby Odone said Sunday that Hayward “remains BP’s chief executive, and he has the confidence of the board and senior management.” Hayward, who angered Americans by minimizing the spill’s environmental impact and expressing his exasperation by saying “I’d like my life back,” has been under heavy criticism over his gaffe-prone leadership during the spill.

SPEWED

Before the cap was attached and closed a week ago, the broken well had spewed 94 million to 184 million gallons into the Gulf since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Completion of the relief well that is the best chance to permanently stop the oil now looks possible by mid-August, but Allen said he wouldn’t hesitate to order another evacuation based on forecasts similar to the ones for Bonnie.

GRAND ISLE

In the oil-affected hamlet of Grand Isle, La., thousands of people spent a gray Saturday at the beach, listening to music. The Island Aid concert, which included LeAnn Rimes and Three Dog Night, raised money for civic projects on the island. For the afternoon at least, things were almost back to normal. Young women in bathing suits rode around on golf carts while young men in pickup trucks tooted their horns and shouted. “This is the way Grand Isle is supposed to be but hasn’t been this year,” said Anne Leblanc of Metairie, La., who said her family has been visiting the island for years. “This is the first we came this year. With the oil spill there hasn’t been a reason to come, no swimming, no fishing.”

CEO OBAMA

As chief executive officer of America, Barack Obama has walked the factory floor when it comes to managing the federal response to the Gulf oil spill, going directly to front-line workers. He’s used wiles respected in the boardroom in wringing a $20 billion commitment from BP. But what was that talk about kicking butt? That’s so assembly line Ford Motor Co., circa 1930. And why on Earth did it take him so long to talk to BP’s chief? A real CEO would have had Tony Hayward on the phone in a New York minute. The president is not, of course, the head of a company. He’s accountable to the public in ways a chief executive is not to shareholders. Governance and politics differ from effective corporate management while sharing certain qualities.