Recent Event Highlights: BP estimated the flow could be as much as 100,000 barrels , Joe Barton apologizes to BP, and then apologizes for apologizing, Obama's fourth visit to the Gulf Region, average flow rate was likely between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels , New Containment Cap, Harry Reid Directs Committes to develop Ideas for Climate Legislation, and 15 more...
Created by rgerholdt on Jun 22, 2010
Last updated: 06/24/10 at 12:35 PM
On June 20 an internal BP document was released by Congress revealing that BP estimated the flow could be as much as 100,000 barrels (4,200,000 US gallons; 16,000 cubic meters) per day
Addressing BP chief executive Tony Hayward, the ranking member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), said, "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private company would be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown -- in this case a $20 billion shakedown."
An hour later, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had released a statement, describing Barton's words as "shameful" and calling on members from both parties to repudiate his comments.
To read an NY Daily News article on Bartons apology click on the link below
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/06/17/2010-06-17_texas_rep_joe_barton_apologizes_to_bp_ceo_tony_hayward_over_white_houses_20_bill.html
House Majority leader Harry Reid held a Democratic caucus meeting on Energy. The meeting featured presentations from lawmakers who have floated various energy and climate change plans. Reid declined to commit to including climate change provisions in the chamber’s upcoming energy bill and said discussions are ongoing.
To read an article on the June 17 Democratic Caucus Meeting click on the link below
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/103933-reid-wont-commit-to-carbon-provisions-in-energy-bill-says-caucus-will-meet-again-next-week-
British oil giant BP announced Wednesday June 16, that the company would set up a major claims fund of $20 billion for shrimpers, restaurants, and other businesses whose lives and livelihoods are being wrecked by the oil flooding into the Gulf of Mexico. BP also agreed to suspend dividend payments to shareholders in the second and third quarter. Following the meeting with President Obama, BP chief executive, Tony Hayward, faced a House Investigation Subcommittee. Hayward expressed deep remorse over the BP oil disaster. However, he was unable to provide answers to the onslaught of questions regarding the oil rig explosion and blowout. Reactions were diverse. Some felt $20 billion was not adequate to cover damage. Some felt that BP was bullied by Congress and the White House.
A second containment system begins siphoning oil and gas from the leaking well. BP estimates the system will carry 5,000 to 10,000 barrels a day to the surface, supplementing the roughly 15,000 barrels collected daily by a containment cap on top of the blowout preventer.
On June 15, after taking into account the increased flow rate after the riser was cut, McNutt estimates that the leak spilled between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (1,500,000 and 2,500,000 US gallons; 5,600 and 9,500 cubic meters) a day.
On June 15, Obama delivers an Oval office. Obama’s speech addresses the BP disaster, expresses his resolve to hold BP accountable, and summons the nation to a new "national mission" to achieve energy independence. “For decades, we have known the days of cheap and accessible oil were numbered,” said Obama. “Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”
To read reactions from various Environmental NGOs on Obama’s oval office address click on the link below
http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/policy/bp-gulf-coast-oil-spill
June 14, 2010. Obama visits the Gulf region for the fourth time. Obama portrays his trip through Mississippi, Alabama and Florida as vital preparation for Tuesday night's address and for Wednesday's confrontation with BP executives. The president promises that "things are going to return to normal" along the stricken Gulf Coast and the region's fouled waters will be in even better shape than before the catastrophe.
To Read an ABC news article on Obama’s fourth visit to the gulf region click on the link below.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bp-oil-spill-obama-visits-gulf-coast-states/story?id=10913766
On June 10, based on additional video, members of the Flow Rate Technical Group calculated updated estimates for the period prior to the cutting of the riser pipe and the insertion of the Riser Insertion Tube Tool. The majority concluded that the best estimate for the average flow rate was likely between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels (1,100,000 and 1,300,000 US gallons; 4,000 and 4,800 cubic meters) per day. The new calculation suggested that an amount of oil equivalent to the Exxon Valdez disaster could have been flowing into the Gulf of Mexico every 8 to 10 days.
To see an info graphic of the worst spills in history click on the link below.
http://www.wpbeginner.com/worst-oil-spills-in-worlds-history-infographic/
Obama returned to the Louisiana Gulf Coast on June 4, for a third visit -- and his second in a week -- and another opportunity to review the devastation in the Gulf of Mexico, and to hear directly from local residents. President Obama said he is furious about the situation, the strongest term he used since the April 20th explosion that killed 11 workers and sank the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform.
To read an ABC News Article covering Obama’s third visit to the gulf region click on the link below.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gulf-oil-spill-obama-visits-time-week-focus/story?id=10821126
On June 4, a cap placed over the upper portion of the leaking well starts funneling some oil and gas to a surface ship, though oil continues to billow from under the lip and through four open vents on top of the device. Methanol is being pumped into the cap to prevent the formation of icy hydrates that could block the mile-long pipe rising from the cap. Engineers hope to capture more oil by progressively closing the cap vents.
To Read an Article on the June 4, containment attempt click on the link below
http://wcco.com/national/gulf.oil.spill.2.1732208.html
One day after Obama’s riveting speech at Carnegie Mellow University Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid directed the chairs of six Senate committees to develop ideas for legislation “to kick the oil habit as soon as possible.”
To read more click on the link below
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/101307-reid-pushes-to-move-energy-bill-in-july
On June 2, during a speech in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University, when President Obama emphatically linked the Gulf disaster to its root cause: a mobile way of life sustained by energy developers pursuing projects that are ever more hazardous to the environment and the economy. In tone and phrasing that could one day be seen as a signal moment in the nation’s shift to safer sources of energy, the president said “if we refuse to take into account the full costs of our fossil fuel addiction – if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and the national security costs and the true economic costs – we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future. The consequences of our political action now in plain sight, the president resolved to achieve comprehensive climate and energy legislation and to “work with anyone to get this done – and we will get it done.”
To watch a video of Obama’s speech click on the link below
http://www.cmu.edu/multimedia/obama/
On May 31, after the failure of the top kill operation, BP began a new operation to cap the well. The damaged pipe will be cut from the blowout preventer, and a dome will be lowered over it to catch the spewing oil.
To see details on the process of capping the well, follow the link below
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2010/05/30/GR2010053003317.html
Friday, May 28, Obama makes a brief second trip to the Gulf of Mexico. President Barack Obama personally confronts the spreading damage wrought by the crude gushing into the Gulf of Mexico – and the bitter anger of the gulf residents onshore.
To read an article on Obama May 28 visit click on the link below
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/business/752391-192/tar-balls-and-promises-obama-visits-gulf.html
On May 26 BP tried two more operations, called the “junk shot” and the “top kill,” to stop the gushing oil. In the “top kill,” heavy drilling liquid is pumped into the well until the weight of the liquid overcomes the pressure of the rising oil. The “junk shot” involved injecting objects like golf balls to clog the blowout preventer, the stack of valves at the top of the well. BP suspended its "top kill" efforts after it became apparent the effort to clog up the blowout preventer with a "junk shot" was failing to keep mud from gushing out the BOP and riser pipe.
On Tuesday May 25, Obama meets with Senate Republicans and, according to a White House statement, told them “that the gulf oil disaster should heighten our sense of urgency to hasten the development of new, clean energy sources that will promote energy independence and good-paying American jobs. Obama asks Senate Republicans to work with him on the promising proposals currently before Congress.
On May 24, U.S. Coast Guard Thad Allen, who was coordinating the government response to the BP oil spill, announced that the director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Marcia McNutt, is leading the Flow Rate Technical Group. The Flow Rate Technical Group initially put the volume of oil flowing from the blown-out well at 12,000 to 19,000 barrels (500,000 to 800,000 US gallons; 1,900 to 3,000 cubic meters) per day, and the government increased its official estimate to that range on May 27.
To see the evolution of the estimates of the gulf oil leakage click on the link below.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/chart-of-the-day-evolving-estimates-of-gulf-oil-leakage.php
On May 21, 2010, President Obama announced that the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would begin work on a joint rulemaking to reduce GHG emissions and improve the fuel efficiency of new heavy-duty engines and trucks sold in the United States.
To read the Presidents Memorandum Click on the link below
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-regarding-fuel-efficiency-standards
May 16, 2010 After several unsuccessful attempts, BP inserts a mile-long tube into the broken riser pipe to divert some of the oil to a drill ship on the surface some 5,000 feet above the wellhead. The tube siphoned off about 22,000 barrels of oil over nine days, but was shut off once the “top kill” operation began.
May 13 - The size and shape of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico changes by the day, depending on weather and water conditions. This graphic shows the forecast for Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15. The shapes of the oil slick are created from information gathered by pilots during flyovers, as well as trajectories created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Thursday.
On May 12, New England Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduce comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, a long-awaited proposal designed to secure existing domestic energy sources and develop new ones that begin to reverse the damaging effects of global climate change.
To read Analyses of the American Power act click on the link below
To read reactions of environmental NGOs click on the link below
http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/policy/american-power-act
On May 7, a 100-ton containment dome, designed to cap a broken pipe and funnel the oil upward, is lowered onto the ocean floor. The oil leak at that time was estimated at 5,000 barrels a day into the surrounding sea. The dome was to be connected to a vessel on the surface and the oil was then to be pumped into tankers. Placing the containment dome over a gushing wellhead fails when a large volume of hydrates — crystals formed when gas combines with water — accumulated inside of the vessel.
To read more click on the link below
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/07/Oil-crews-lower-huge-dome-into-gulf/UPI-30361273212523/
May 02, 2010 — President Obama visited the Louisiana coast for a first-hand look at the widening oil spill disaster in the Gulf. Obama called it a “massive disaster.” See video report for more.
BP starts drilling relief wells that could be used to plug the oil leak at the bottom of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico. Once one of the new wells intersects the existing well, heavy drilling mud, followed by cement, would be used to stop the oil from leaking.
An April 30 estimates placed the total spread of the oil at 3,850 square miles (10,000 km2). The spill quickly approaches the Delta National Wildlife Refuge and Breton National Wildlife Refuge, where dead animals, including a sea turtle, are found. BP officials begin injecting chemical dispersants underwater, near the source of the leaks. The dispersants, usually used on the water surface, is intended to break up the oil before it rises.
To see images of wildlife affected by the spill click on the link below
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Animals-suffer-after-oil-spill/ss/events/sc/052010gulfoilanimals
On April 28, based on satellite pictures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that the leak was likely 5,000 barrels (210,000 US gallons; 790 cubic meters) a day – five times more than BP estimated just four days prior.
To see the evolution of the estimates of the gulf oil leakage click on the link below.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/chart-of-the-day-evolving-estimates-of-gulf-oil-leakage.php
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decides to bump climate-and-energy legislation behind immigration reform as his next priority, Senator Lindsey Graham is apoplectic. Graham, along with Senators John Kerry, and Joe Lieberman, had spent months drafting a climate and energy bill, and were prepared to introduce it. On April 26, enraged by Reid's plan, Graham drops the Kerry-Lieberman bill possibly jeopardizing Republican votes for comprehensive climate legislation.
To read Graham’s Statement click on the link below
http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=73236907-802a-23ad-4378-793da7514eb1
By April 25, the oil spill covers 580 square miles (1,500 km2) and is only 31 miles (50 km) from the ecologically sensitive Chandeleur Islands. The most promising way to stop the leak would have been to activate the well’s blowout preventer, a valve designed to seal off the well in an emergency. But several efforts to activate the blowout preventer failed.
On April 24 BP initially estimates that 1,000 barrels of oil (42,000 US gallons; 160 cubic meters) is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico each day.
To see the evolution of the estimates of the gulf oil leakage click on the link below.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/chart-of-the-day-evolving-estimates-of-gulf-oil-leakage.php
Two days after the explosions, on Earth Day's 40th anniversary, the Deepwater Horizon sinks 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/22/oil-rig-deepwater-horizon_n_548745.html
The Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig working on a well for BP one mile below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, suffers an uncontrolled blowout and explosion on April 20, 2010. The platform, operating in 5,000 feet of water 50 miles from the Louisiana coast, is destroyed. Eleven men are killed, dozens injured, and an uncontrolled torrent oil pours from a hole in the bottom of the sea.
On Wednesday March 31, 2010 President Obama proposes lifting the offshore drilling ban along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean. Obama describes his proposal as a part of a broader strategy that would move the nation from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy. He ends his speech with an appeal to Republicans and Democrats alike “I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that’s going to foster new energy -- new industries, create millions of new jobs, protect our planet, and help us become more energy independent.”
To watch the speech at Andrews Air Force Base follow the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA7RAfHN-wo&feature=fvw
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passes their version of the climate and energy bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, on November 5, 2009. The fact that EPW moved a bill out of committee is a signal that the Senate is serious about addressing climate change.
http://www.usclimatenetwork.org/hot-topics/energy-climate-legislation
The House of Representatives passed a sweeping climate and energy bill on June 26, 2009, the first time a U.S. chamber of Congress approved legislation that sets mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The American Clean Energy and Security Act passed the House with a vote of 219-212; 211 Democrats and 8 Republicans supported the bill. In his weekly address a day after the vote, President Obama said the legislation was "historic" and would "open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America." The bill sets mandatory caps on 87 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It would require 17 percent emission reductions below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent below 2005
To read a comparison of the House bill passed in 2009 and the bill in the Senate click on the link below.
http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/12/american-power-act-senate-bill-house-climate-bill-and-clean-energy-jobs-bill/
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