Deepwater Horizon Update July 29, 2010

BP announced Monday that it has taken a pre-tax charge of $32.2 billion for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, including the $20 billion escrow compensation fund previously announced.

Lawyers are putting together civil lawsuit against BP
Seven U.S. federal judges will convene more than 2,000 miles from the Gulf's oil-smudged shores to consider which U.S. court, or courts, should oversee hundreds of spill-related suits by injured rig workers, fishermen, investors and property owners.

Potentially adding its name to the line of claimants, Royal Dutch Shell Plc idled seven rigs and took a $56 million charge related to the drilling ban on Thursday. Saying the ban would reduce its production by almost 3 million barrels this year, the company did not rule out reclaiming the cash from BP.

BP Says It Has Paid $256 Million in Claims to date.

Static Kill’ May Begin Monday

BP still expects to permanently shut the well as soon as Monday. BP is planning two methods for sealing the well. The first, which could be executed Monday, is known as a static kill, in which mud, cement and other materials would be pumped in from the top of the well, forcing oil and gas down. Several days later, officials intend to execute the second tactic, in which mud and cement are injected from the bottom using a relief well. That bottom-kill effort could begin as early as Aug. 7.

Administration Wide Response

Admiral Allen and Federal On-scene Coordinator Admiral Zukunft Provide an Update on the BP Oil Spill Response
National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen and Federal On-scene Coordinator Admiral Paul Zukunft provided a briefing to inform the American public and answer questions on the administration-wide response to the BP oil spill. A full transcript is available here.

Admiral Allen provided a sequence of operations for proceeding with the static kill procedure and the drilling of the relief well. Admiral Zukunft recognized the 100th day of the response and discussed the evolution of the spill so far and anticipated response priorities going forward, including plans to develop a boom recovery strategy—to remove boom where it is no longer necessary in order to prevent further damage to marshes and sensitive areas, resulting from boom displacement during storms.

NOAA Ships, Aircraft and Scientist Continue to Support BP Oil Spill Response
As part of ongoing efforts to use the best scientific tools available in the response to the BP oil spill, NOAA continues to play a vital role in the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill response and use all scientific methods at its disposal, including satellites in space, planes in the air, ships on the water, autonomous underwater vehicles and gliders under the water, and scientists in the field.

There are five NOAA vessels currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico with missions ranging from seafood safety to detecting submerged oil. In addition, two NOAA aircraft are conducting aerial surveillance to observe marine life and measure surface oil density and thickness, and rescue boats continue to search for oiled or injured sea turtles. For a complete list of NOAA activities in response to the spill, click here.

Preparations Continue to Resume Relief Well Drilling
Development Driller III has removed the subsea containment device, or packer—which was put in place to protect the well while the site was evacuated due to severe weather—and continues preparations to complete the drilling of the relief well. Development Driller II is conducting maintenance and will hold operations and await results of the DDIII relief well. Development Driller III has drilled the first relief well to a depth of 17,864 feet below the Gulf surface and Development Driller II has drilled the second relief well—a redundancy measure taken at the direction of the administration—to a depth of 15,963 feet below the surface.

Seismic and Acoustic Testing Continue to Ensure the Integrity of the Wellhead
In order to ensure the integrity of the wellhead and search for and respond to anomalies, the research vessel Geco Topaz is conducting seismic surveys of the seafloor around the wellhead, and the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter is conducting acoustic surveys—part of continued efforts to use the best scientific tools available in response to the BP oil spill. As of this morning, the pressure continues to rise, demonstrating that it has integrity, and is currently at 6,942 pounds per square inch.

FWS Releases 36 Rehabilitated Birds Back to the Wild
As part of continued efforts to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats in the Gulf of Mexico from the impacts of the BP oil spill, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released 20 brown pelicans at Goose Island State Park in Texas. The birds were rehabilitated at Ft. Jackson and Hammond Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers in La., and the Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Gulfport, Miss. FWS also released 13 laughing gulls, 2 royal terns, and 1 sandwich tern that were rehabilitated at the Hammond Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge in Grand Chenier, La. To date, more than 550 rehabilitated birds have been released back to the wild.

Shoreline Cleanup Operations Continue Along the Gulf Coast
Fish and Wildlife Service and National Parks Service continue cleanup operations on NPS lands and FWS refuges along the Gulf Coast. A 314-person crew collected 628 bags and 35 pails of oiled debris during at Fort Pickens and Santa Rosa Island, Fla.

Approved SBA Economic Injury Assistance Loans Surpass $17.3 Million
SBA has approved 201 economic injury assistance loans to date, totaling more than $17.3 million for small businesses in the Gulf Coast impacted by the BP oil spill. Additionally, the agency has granted deferments on 707 existing SBA disaster loans in the region, totaling more than $3.7 million per month in payments. For information on assistance loans for affected businesses, visit the SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance, call (800) 659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), or email [email protected].

Administration Continues to Oversee BP’s Claims Process; More than $250 Million Disbursed
The administration will continue to hold the responsible parties accountable for repairing the damage, and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a financial loss as a result of the BP oil spill. To date, 132,826 claims have been opened, from which more than $255 million have been disbursed. No claims have been denied to date. There are 1,267 claims adjusters on the ground. To file a claim, visit www.bp.com/claims or call BP’s helpline at 1-800-440-0858. Those who have already pursued the BP claims process and are not satisfied with BP’s resolution can call the Coast Guard at (800) 280-7118. Additional information about the BP claims process and all available avenues of assistance can be found at www.disasterassistance.gov.

Oil Spills Around the World

Enbridge Oil Spill, Kalamazoo River, Mich.
Cause: Unknown; spill began Monday
Amount spilled: 19,500 barrels (819,000 gallons)
Spread: 20 miles along the Kalamazoo River
Workers responding: 150, being doubled as of today
Boom deployed: 14,000 feet, being increased to 31,000 feet today


China National Petroleum Oil Spill, Dalian, China
Cause: Explosion in an oil pipeline in Dalian on July 16
Amount spilled: 1,133 barrels (47,600 gallons)
Spread: 140 square miles of the Yellow Sea
Workers responding: Thousands, many of them fisherman and residents of the area

BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico
Cause: Explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, April 20
Amount spilled: Worst-case estimate was 60,000 barrels a day (2.5 million gallons) before the well was shut off.
Spread: 2,700 square miles of visible slick estimated as of July 15; 57,500 square miles of fishing grounds Boom deployed: Roughly 3.5 million feet
Boom staged: Roughly 905,390 feet
Total boom: Roughly 4.4 million feet
Workers responding: More than 29,000 overall