FACTBOX-Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill
July 27 |
July 27 (Reuters) - Here are some developments in BP Plc's (BP.L) (BP.N) Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest offshore oil disaster in U.S. history.
TOP DEVELOPMENTS
* BP's newly named chief executive, Bob Dudley, on Tuesday called the Gulf oil spill a "wake-up call" for the entire industry as the company tallied up its losses and disclosed two U.S. investigations. [ID:nLDE66Q09I]
* The top U.S. official overseeing the response to BP's Gulf of Mexico oil leak said on Tuesday he does not expect the company's commitment to cleaning up the spill to be diminished with its change in leadership. [ID:nN27108450]
POLITICS/POLICY
* U.S. Senate Democrats officially unveiled on Tuesday energy legislation to implement offshore drilling reforms and promote natural gas-powered vehicles that Democrats want the Senate to pass before lawmakers leave for their summer break next week. [ID:nWNA6485]
* BP said U.S. markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice had launched a probe into market trading connected to the oil giant's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [ID:nN2795810]
* BP and British officials have "stonewalled" attempts by the U.S. Senate to examine whether the oil giant influenced the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Senator Robert Menendez said on Tuesday. [ID:nWNA6504]
* Attorneys hoping to lead the legal fight against BP will descend on the unlikely venue of Boise, Idaho, this week as a special judicial panel considers how to bring order to a wave of spill-related lawsuits. [ID:nN27268402]
* Kenneth Feinberg, lawyer extraordinaire, who acquired a solid gold reputation for fixing sticky situations for the U.S. government is facing one of his toughest challenges yet: running BP's $20 billion compensation fund. [ID:nN26206668]
MARKET IMPACT/COMPANIES
* BP tripled second-quarter profit from refining and marketing operations due to strong margins and record high petrochemical sales, which also may help earnings figures from other major oil companies later this week. [ID:nLDE66Q20C]
* Protesters from environmental group Greenpeace disabled some of BP's 50 petrol stations in central London on Tuesday in protest at the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. [ID:nLDE66Q0U3]
* BP shares closed down 2.63 percent in London while shares in New York ended down about 1.7 percent on Tuesday.
CAPTURE/CONTAINMENT/CLEANUP
* BP Plc could start the final procedure to kill its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico late next week despite storm-related delays, the top U.S. oil spill official said on Monday. [ID:nN26223934]
* Hundreds of contractors and thousands of workers are swarming over the U.S. Gulf Coast, hoping to cash in on the country's worst oil spill. [ID:nN27134847] (Compiled by Alyson Zepeda in Houston, editing by Vicki Allen)
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
(1) North Cape spill ,Rhode Island— January 1996
A total of 828,000 gallons of #2 home-heating oil spilled into the Block Island Sound when the barge North Cape and its tug ran aground at Moonstone Beach in Rhode Island after the tug caught fire. A 250-square-mile area was affected. Shellfish, finfish and birds were most affected; an estimated 9 million lobsters were killed as a result of the spill.
(2) World Prodigy spill,Rhode Island — June 1989
About 290,000 gallons of #2 home-heating oil spilled into Narragansett Bay when the barge World Prodigy ran aground on Brenton Reef near Newport. The oil spread over a 120-square-mile area, taking a large toll on lobsters and other shellfish and finfish.
(3) Buzzard’s Bay spill,Massachusetts — April 2003
98,000 gallons of #6 oil spilled into Buzzard’s Bay,Massachusetts when Bouchard Transportation Co.’s Barge #120 cargo tank ruptured. The oil spill has affected 90 miles of coastline along the bay, and has shown up on beaches as far east as Block Island and Narragansett,Rhode Island. Toll is heavy on birds and shorelines
April 2010 -Gulf of Mexico – unknown amounts of oil
Follow Reuters