Energy News

The glittering Gulf states' dark labor secret
The Christian Science Monitor – Mon Sep 6, 3:25 pm ET

Doha, Qatar - The rise of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf is a now-familiar tale. Tiny societies of pearl divers, coastal merchants, and nomadic Bedouin were transformed in the last half of the 20th century by oil and natural-gas wealth. Sparkling office towers and hotels sprang into the muggy air, the monarchs that rule these tiny emirates became bywords for financial excess, and newspapers described the region's economic "miracle." Full Story »
Focus of Gulf oil disaster shifts to finding the culprit
AFP – Sun Sep 5, 3:41 pm ET

AFP/Getty Images/File

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - With a key piece of evidence raised from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico and BP's Macondo well ruled a threat no longer, the focus shifts to what went wrong and who is to blame. Full Story »
BP hikes asset sale target after oil spill: report
AFP – Sun Sep 5, 7:56 am ET

AFP/Getty Images/File

LONDON (AFP) - Oil giant BP has increased to nearly 25 billion pounds the amount it wants to raise from an asset sale programme in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. Full Story »
BP Gulf well "secured," awaiting final kill: U.S.
Reuters – Sun Sep 5, 4:59 am ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc's ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well is secure with no threat of spewing crude again, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said Full Story »
Busted BP well no longer 'threat' to Gulf
AFP – Sun Sep 5, 1:45 am ET

AFP/Getty Images/File

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Macondo well, which spilled an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, has been secured and no longer constitutes "a threat," a senior US official said. Full Story »
EDF may face criminal trial over Greenpeace affair
AFP – Sat Sep 4, 3:16 pm ET

AFP/File

NANTERRE, France (AFP) - Prosecutors have called for French state energy giant EDF, accused of spying on environmental campaigners Greenpeace, to face criminal trial, EDF lawyer Alexis Gublin said Saturday. Full Story »
BP spill costs hit 8 bln dlrs as crews unearth clues
AFP – Sat Sep 4, 3:25 am ET

AFP/Getty Images/File

WASHINGTON (AFP) - British oil giant BP has spent eight billion dollars to battle the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the company has revealed as its crews retrieved key evidence from the seabed. Full Story »
BP replaces failed blowout preventer on Gulf well
Reuters – Sat Sep 4, 1:16 am ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc successfully replaced a failed blowout preventer from atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well late on Friday, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said. Full Story »
What now for Gulf? Fire complicates drill debate
AP – Fri Sep 3, 11:24 pm ET

AP

WASHINGTON - What now for the Gulf? News of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling. Full Story »
Government says no leaking oil at Mariner platform
Reuters – Fri Sep 3, 10:03 pm ET

Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. government inspectors found no leaking oil at Mariner Energy Inc's burned platform in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said late on Friday, allaying fears about more environmental damage after BP's massive spill. Full Story »
Interior chief Salazar voices doubt on Arctic drilling
Reuters – Fri Sep 3, 6:03 pm ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Friday he cannot predict whether Royal Dutch Shell, which has invested $3.5 billion in an offshore Arctic oil-development program, will be allowed to drill the five wells it plans next year in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Full Story »
Mariner fire not like BP spill: US Interior chief
Reuters – Fri Sep 3, 4:05 pm ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The fire at Mariner Energy's oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be an industrial accident and not an example of problems in regulatory oversight, the U.S. Interior Secretary said. Full Story »
Blowout valve removed from busted oil well: BP
AFP – Fri Sep 3, 3:39 pm ET

AFP/Getty Images/File

WASHINGTON (AFP) - BP Friday removed the blowout preventer valve from atop sunken oil well, a key part blamed for failing and sparking the Gulf of Mexico spill and the worst environmental disaster in US history. Full Story »
U.S. offshore oil fire may delay lift of drill ban
Reuters – Fri Sep 3, 2:22 pm ET

Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama Administration is likely to stay focused on toughening regulatory oversight of the U.S. offshore oil industry and may push back lifting a ban on deepwater drilling after the latest accident in the Gulf of Mexico, analysts said on Thursday. Full Story »
Explosion on Gulf of Mexico oil platform sends crew into sea
AFP – Fri Sep 3, 9:24 am ET

AFP/KATC3

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - An oil platform explosion Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico forced the crew to dive into the sea and threatened further damage to waters still recovering from the BP disaster. Full Story »
BP says offshore oil limits could hurt payouts in spill
AFP – Fri Sep 3, 9:19 am ET

AFP/File

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Proposed US limits on offshore oil drilling could hurt BP's ability to pay for damages stemming from the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a company executive said in an interview Friday. Full Story »
BP says cost of Gulf of Mexico spill hits $8B
AP – Fri Sep 3, 7:02 am ET

Reuters

LONDON - BP says it has so far spent $8 billion responding to the disastrous oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. Full Story »
No sign of oil after Gulf platform fire: Coast Guard
Reuters – Thu Sep 2, 11:18 pm ET

AFP/File

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - An oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy burst into flames in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, but the crew of 13 escaped and there were no signs of an oil spill, the Coast Guard said. Full Story »