DEEPWATER HORIZON UPDATE May 4, 2010

From THE JOINT INFORMATION CENTER—Roberts, Louisiana

Deepwater Horizon Press Briefing May 3, 2010- 4PM EST

Participants: USCG Vice Admiral Mary Landry; Capt. Steven Poulin, USCG Incident Command: Keith Seiham, Incident Command-BP; Mike Sauicer, MMS regional Ops Manager; Doug Suttles, BP COO; and representatives from NOAA and Transocean.

The Unified Command has been working around the clock in Robert, LA, and in the three incident command centers in Houma, LA, Mobile. AL, and Houston, TX.

BP is designing an undersea collection device and the command is tightly focused on spill control. Thad Allan, commandant of the USCG, is now the national incident commander. President Obama, Commandant Allan, and Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator visited the Venice, LA command group.

The command is aggressively implementing local and national response plans in accordance to the preexisting plans dictated by OPA90. BP is currently injecting subsea dispersants directly at the sources of the spill. The command is hoping to do flyovers to monitor the results from the unique undersea efforts. Additionally, BP is drilling relief wells to elevate the flow of undersea oil. There are currently 200 response vessels in theater as well as skimmers, barges, and 9 ROVs.

President Obama and Commandant Allan have met with regional state governors as well as local parish presidents and mayors yesterday. The command has told these concern regional officials that the government and all its resources will give them continued, unparalleled coordination until the spill is contained. They have been assured that no expense will be spared in the response efforts.

Two additional staging areas to protect sensitive shorelines, and now a total of nine staging areas are position to deal with the oil that might come ashore in the four Gulf Coast states. BP is currently working in local areas to train and engage volunteers as well as professional responders dealing with grassroots efforts to combat the spill.

Joint Information Center’s website:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

API’s Q&A on Deepwater Horizon Spill:
http://www.api.org/Newsroom/safetyresponse/upload/DH_Q_A_FINAL-4-29-10.pdf

NOAA's Incident Website and recent spills:
http://www.incidentnews.gov/

BP Reels As Spill Widens:
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAN0121519420100503

Oil Spill Threatens Production:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-03/bp-spill-threatens-gulf-of-mexico-oil-gas-operations-update2-.html