Another oil spill is taking place in the world right now from an off-shore drilling operation.

The incident was at Chevron’s deep-sea drilling operation off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. The country’s federal police says information released by Chevron does not match what they have seen, that is, the spill is larger, and they only saw one cleanup ship.

Chevron said the oil spill was between 400 and 650 barrels of oil and that it had contained the leak. But Brazil’s oil regulator National Petroleum Agency estimated 1,000 barrels had leaked to the surface and until earlier this week said it was not sure whether the well had been plugged (apparently, it has been by now).

Non-profit SkyTruth, which uses satellite imagery to detect environmental problems, went further and said the oil spill extended 918 square miles and on Tuesday on the spill rate was at least 3,738 barrels per day.

The organization wrote on its blog yesterday that it hopes that next satellite image it will get will reveal a much smaller spillage area now that the leak has been stopped. The last image was from November 12th as SkyTruth hasn’t been able to get new images since then due to cloudy weather.

Brazil’s federal police has launched an investigation into the incident while Brazil’s Energy Minister Edison Lobão said the company will “severely punished” if it has not done what it should have to contain the spill.

The incident illustrates once again the dangers of deep-sea oil drilling and why we should be moving towards alternative energy.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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A coalition of environmental groups and Alaska natives has filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. approval of Shell Oil’s plans to drill off the Alaska coast.

The lawsuit — led by Earthjustice, the Alaska Wilderness League, and the Natural Resource Defense Council — alleges that Shell’s plans to drill three exploratory wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas next year lack an adequate response in the case of an oil spill.

“Allowing Shell to drill when it has no credible plan to cleanup an oil spill in the Arctic’s icy waters, and instead simply assumes it can clean up 95 percent of oil spilled isn’t just unrealistic, it’s insulting and irresponsible,” said Holly Harris, an attorney for Earthjustice.

The coalition argues that a major spill could devastate polar bears, bowhead whales, and other marine species, and pose a threat to native communities that rely on the Arctic ecosystems. The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Shell officials responded that the chances of a spill during exploration are minimal and that response plans meet federal requirements.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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U.S. government regulators have conditionally approved Shell Exploration’s plans to drill for oil in the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska. Drilling could begin as early as next July.

The decision is a setback for various environmental groups and indigenous people, who are concerned that drilling activity and the potential for oil spills in the icy region could threaten a highly sensitive ecosystem that is home to whales, seals, walruses, polar bears, and migratory seabirds.

Shell and Alaska’s U.S. senators praised the decision, which brings Shell a big step closer to drilling after years of legal battles. Shell must still clear some regulatory hurdles, including developing an oil spill response plan.

Holly Harris, attorney for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the decision could open a warming Arctic to an unprecedented level of oil drilling, adding, “This is a disaster waiting to happen.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations issued a report that criticized Shell and the Nigerian government for contributing to 50 years of oil pollution in the Niger delta. The UN said that reversing damage there would be the world’s largest oil clean-up, costing at least $1 billion and taking up to 30 years.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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Some recent stories in the press have attempted to paint a picture that an agreement on energy issues signed during the President’s trip to Brazil shows a lack of commitment to domestic oil and gas production. Let’s be clear – this administration is committed to developing a broad range of energy sources, and we know that high prices at the pump are forcing Americans to make tough choices. That is why we continue to take steps that, over the long run, will save Americans money at the pump and lessen our reliance on foreign oil. We stand by our desire to be a strategic partner of Brazil on energy issues, but when it comes to domestic production our record speaks for itself, and regardless what some would like to claim, that record makes clear that we are fully committed to developing domestic resources safely, responsibly, and efficiently. 

It has been less than a year since the largest oil spill in U.S. history. In that time, this Administration has worked aggressively to implement unprecedented new safety and environmental standards that build on the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Contrary to misleading claims, production has continued. Following the development of important new standards, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has worked with industry to ensure they meet the standards, and as a result has to date issued 39 permits for new shallow water wells.  In February, oil companies were finally able to develop the first deepwater containment systems – designed to contain spills if the worst happens, as it did in the case of the Deepwater Horizon. Based on that ability – evaluated on a case-by-case, permit-by-permit basis –since February 28th, DOI has issued six deepwater drilling permits. Each permit needed to comply with all of the new standards, including demonstrating that they could contain an underwater oil spill like the one that released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico just last year.

DOI is also taking a range of other steps to encourage domestic offshore production, immediately and over the longer term.  In fact, just last Monday, the agency approved the first deepwater exploration plan since new standards were put into place – a step that was applauded by industry and not only shows the industry’s ability to meet important standards, but will result in the opportunity for additional deepwater drilling permits.

These efforts also are bolstered by the responsible production that DOI is overseeing on onshore public lands as well. In 2010, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held 33 oil and gas lease sales covering 3.2 million acres, and processed more than 5,000 applications for permits to drill (APD) on Federal and Indian lands. In 2011, BLM is scheduled to hold an additional 33 lease sales, and the bureau expects to process more than 7,200 APDs.  

Of course production is not just about federal action, industry needs to do their part, not only taking the necessary steps to develop and produce responsibly, but ensure they use the leases they have. Currently, just 45 percent of all onshore leases are actively producing, and less than 30 percent of the millions of acres under offshore leases are producing. That is why the administration is also taking steps to provide additional incentives for industry to develop oil and gas supplies from the leases that already are in their hands.

This Administration will continue to take concrete and immediate steps to support responsible domestic production, as well as expand our energy portfolio to increase clean energy sources and invest in efficiency across the board.  As the President said on March 11, “any notion that my administration has shut down oil production might make for a good political sound bite, but it doesn’t match up with reality.”

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Investigators working to piece together the data that workers on the Deepwater Horizon saw in the rig’s final hours have run into a roadblock, according to a letter sent Monday to the presidential panel’s commissioners.

A company called National Oilwell Varco, an offshore drilling company, provided the data displays aboard the rig and is standing in the way of the investigators’ effort to reconstruct data displays similar to the ones on the rig using data supplied by BP, the investigators said:

For over a month, we have attempted to elicit NOV’s assistance on this matter. They have been generally uncooperative, either in the form of refusal or delay.

“The men who know the precise answers to those questions … are deceased,” wrote investigator Fred Bartlit. “All we have is the data. We request your assistance in obtaining NOV’s cooperation.”

National Oilwell Varco, in a statement, said it rejected the investigators’ requests out of concern that trying to recreate the displays could produce a “misleading picture of what actually happened.”

Read the investigators’ letter.

Article by Marian Wang, appearing courtesy Propublica.

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(Reuters) – Halliburton Co. used flawed cement in BP Plc’s doomed Gulf of Mexico well, which could have contributed to the blowout that sparked the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a White House panel said on Thursday.

Halliburton’s shares tumbled as much as 16 percent after the National Oil Spill Commission released a letter detailing the panel’s findings, before recovering to close down nearly 8 percent at $31.68 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. BP’s U.S.-listed shares closed up 1.3 percent at $40.60 per share.

While not absolving BP of responsibility, the report heaped criticism on Halliburton’s cement job, raising investor concerns it could be forced to bear some of the clean-up costs. BP has taken a $32.2 billion earnings charge to cover the cleanup.

The cost to insure Halliburton’s debt jumped on the news.

Halliburton had run a series of tests that showed the material was unstable in the weeks before the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers and spurred a temporary ban on deepwater U.S. drilling.

In an emailed statement, Halliburton said it is reviewing the report and will publish a response later on Thursday. A BP spokesman declined to comment.

Both Halliburton and BP were aware of flaws in the cement slurry, similar to the one used to seal the mile-deep Macondo well, as early as March 8, over a month before the spill, “but neither acted upon that data,” according to National Oil Spill Commission chief counsel Fred Bartlit.

“The fact that BP and Halliburton knew this cement job could fail only solidifies their liability and responsibility for this disaster,” said Rep. Edward Markey, a Democratic lawmaker who has criticized BP and its well partners.

The industry has developed tests to identify faulty cement jobs in offshore wells, but “BP and/or Transocean personnel misinterpreted or chose not to conduct such tests at the Macondo well,” Bartlit wrote.

Tests conducted by industry cement experts show “the foam cement used at Macondo was unstable,” Bartlit wrote in a letter to co-chairs Bob Graham and Bill Reilly. “Halliburton (and perhaps BP) should have considered redesigning the foam slurry before pumping it at the Macondo well.”

The report supports claims by BP that it shares the responsibility for the disaster with its Macondo partners, including Swiss-based Transocean Ltd, which owned the Deepwater Horizon rig.

In an interim report BP issued in September, it said Halliburton used an “unstable” cement mixture that allowed hydrocarbons to flow up the drill pipe and onto the floor of the rig, where they ignited.

The resulting spill marred the coasts of four U.S. Gulf states, prompted a ban on new deepwater drilling and left BP’s image in tatters in the United States, home to 40 percent of the London-based oil giant’s business.

Article by Chris Baltimore; additional reporting by Anna Driver in Houston, Braden Reddall in San Francisco and Ayesha Rascoe in Washington; editing by Stacey Joyce and Jerry Norton.

Article appearing courtesy Reuters.

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(Reuters) – The U.S. government confirmed on Sunday that BP Plc has succeeded in permanently plugged its runaway Macondo well, closing the first chapter in the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Here are some questions and answers on how things might play out for BP, the U.S. offshore industry and the Gulf’s fragile ecosystem.

What are BP’s Biggest Challenges Going Forward?

* The spill has wiped about $70 billion from BP’s market value and spurred the company to ditch its gaffe-prone British chief executive, Tony Hayward, to be replaced by an American, Bob Dudley.

* BP now faces billions of dollars in fines and penalties from civil and possibly criminal prosecution by the U.S. government. BP has set aside about $32 billion for spill liabilities, but experts say that amount could soar for BP and its partners if they are found criminally negligent.

* BP must defend its dominant North America position — it is one of the largest U.S. oil and natural gas producers and the largest acreage holder in the Gulf of Mexico, which generates a large percentage of earnings growth. BP could have trouble finding partners willing to enter joint ventures for deepwater projects due to a higher risk profile, experts said.

Will BP Tap the Macondo Well in the Future?

* BP has remained mum about its intentions for the Macondo reservoir, which could hold upward of 100 million barrels of oil. In coming years, BP could unveil plans to retap Macondo despite its troubled history, said Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute in New Orleans.

Especially if oil prices rise, such a plan could gain the blessing of the U.S. government, which might be enticed by the royalties that BP would pay to extract the oil, Smith said.

What are the Long-Term Impacts for Offshore Drilling?

* The Obama administration has slapped a moratorium on new deepwater U.S. offshore oil drilling, spurring some rig operators to set their sights on other offshore basins like Brazil and Africa.

* The spill has fundamentally recast the risk-reward equation for drilling in the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico, long considered a prime target for energy companies looking to escape the political uncertainty of Venezuela and Russia.

* Deepwater operators are having trouble obtaining permits for activities that are allowed under the government’s drilling halt. A return to normal is not seen for years.

* Delays and regulation could add 10 percent to the marginal cost of deepwater oil production, and a one-year delay in nascent deepwater projects could impact global oil supply by 500,000 barrels per day between 2013 and 2017, according to Bernstein Research.

How has the Spill Impacted the Gulf Coast?

* For 87 days following the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that triggered the oil spill, crude spewed into the Gulf, contaminating wetlands, fishing grounds and beaches from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

* BP engineers provisionally capped the leak on July 15 and lawyer Kenneth Feinberg is overseeing a $20 billion, BP-funded program to compensate businesses, fishermen and others, some of whom suffered devastating losses.

* NOAA head Jane Lubchenco told a White House briefing on August 4 that: “At least 50 percent of the oil that was released is now completely gone from the system. And most of the remainder is degrading rapidly or is being removed from the beaches.”

* A number of studies have shown that much of the oil that was not captured or burned off was consumed by deep-water microbes, but other environmentalists warn of unknown long-term consequences from the spill.

Article by Chris Baltimore, edited by Philip Barbara, appearing courtesy Reuters.

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Today, a panel of government scientists released a report which said that the vast majority of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has either evaporated or been burned, skimmed, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed much of which is in the process of being degraded. A significant amount of this is the direct result of the federal government’s aggressive response to the spill.

The chart below outlines the breakdown of what has happened to the oil released into the Gulf of Mexico since the oil spill began in April:

These interagency findings were generated using a scientific tool called the Oil Budget Calculator, which employs a combination of direct measurements and the best scientific estimates available. The calculator is based on 4.9 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf, the government’s latest estimates of the flow rate from Monday. More than 25 of the best government and independent scientists contributed to or reviewed the calculator and its calculation methods. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), as well as academic scientists are continuing to work to refine these calculations.

While we welcome the news contained in this report, we continue to be extremely concerned about what this oil spill means for the health of the Gulf ecosystem and the millions of people who depend on the Gulf for their livelihoods and enjoyment. To that end, our response effort will continue until the well is killed, the oil is cleaned up and until all of the people are made whole again. 

For more information about the ongoing Administration-wide response to BP Oil Spill, visit RestoreTheGulf.gov.

Article by Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

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RIP, Energy Bill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he didn’t have the votes to pass a climate-change bill that puts a price on greenhouse gases. With that statement one of Obama’s major campaign promises crashed to earth, along with hopes for slowing global warming or using cleantech to jump-start the U.S. economy. In place of a real energy bill is an “energy bill” that gives homeowners efficiency rebates and regulates deepwater oil drilling. But with a midterm election in the offing and more Republicans likely heading to Congress, the notion of cap-and-trade is, well, cap-and-dead.

BP Plugs the Spew in Gulf, Boardroom: Having capped its oil spill for what might be for good, BP replaced its foot-in-mouth CEO Tony Hayward with Robert Dudley, an American who says he’ll make safety his top goal. Meanwhile, while no one was paying attention, Obama became the first president to take a stab at managing the oceans.

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LEAF is Cheaper, Volt Goes Farther. Who Wins? General Motors finally named a price for the Chevy Volt: $41,000, or about $8K more than its electric rival, the Nissan LEAF. In its defense, Chevy argues that the Volt can go 340 miles with its “extended range” gas engine, while the LEAF’s battery dies after 100 miles. Who will go the distance with buyers? Time will tell.

Blow, Google, Blow: The king of search officially became a utility as it arranged to mainline 114 megawatts of power from an Iowa windfarm. Also this week, the Alta Wind Energy Center in the California foothills announced it had secured the funds to grow to 1,550 gigawatts and so become the largest windfarm in the world.

Take the NASA Quiz: This week, NASA unveiled snazzy maps that reveal the answers to two not-so-trivial questions: Where are the tallest trees in the world, and where are the biggest dead zones in the ocean? Let’s tackle the second question first. The U.S. East Coast and Northern Europe have the largest dead zones, victims of too much chemical fertilizer leaking off the farms. The tallest trees (which sequester the most carbon) are in Southeast Asia and in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

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The same day BP finally threw a cap over their spewing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico (which is expected to be as effective as celebrity rehab) the non-profit Artists & Athletes Alliance held a private discussion with Philippe Cousteau about the epic Gulf disaster. Event attendees, like Jorga Fox, Alyssa Milano, Stephen Baldwin and Jason Mraz, were treated to Cousteau’s inside information about the spill and it’s consequences, and got a rare glimpse of his feisty Irish side when discussing BP, the government, and our dependence on fossil fuels.

Frustrated with the media’s B-level response to the BP oil spill, Cousteau decided it was time for “powerful storytelling and powerful images.” Acting on his words he made history in May when he dove into the oil slick only 20 miles from the site of the gushing Deepwater Horizon well. Wearing a dry suit to keep from coming into contact with the toxic mix of oil and dispersant, which hung, like a cloud, around him, Philippe said the combined compounds resembled “Chunky Campbell soup.”

Throughout the discussion Cousteau repeatedly stressed the fact that this spill is “unprecedented” and tried to explain why the Gulf disaster is so different from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound. The Exxon spill happened at the surface of the ocean when an oil tanker broke open, and spilled 11 million gallons of water into a bay, protected by land on three sides.

The Deepwater Horizon spill is occurring 1 mile under the surface of the ocean, 180 million gallons have spilled so far, and computer models are projecting the spill will spread to the Atlantic. Cousteau deemed the 86 days it took to get a cap on the well “unacceptable” and suggested that if we didn’t know how to clean up the oil then we shouldn’t be drilling for it in the first place.

I had seen Cousteau’s coverage of the spill on various networks and one delightfully unexpected treat is that he’s much feistier in person. (Obviously, someone is over editing the tapes – ABC, CNN, etc. let the man talk). Standing sometimes to make a point, swearing at others, he passionately pleaded for the government to stop subsidizing coal and oil and let it compete at it’s true market price against renewable energy sources. He tried to reason with his privileged audience, “The price at the pump is not the price we are paying.” Cousteau also repeated sentiments from the TEDxOilSpill conference held last month in Washington D.C., “We have underinvested in our oceans for decades.”

The event was moderated by eminent Louisiana physician Corey J. Hebert who has been treating children for post traumatic stress disorder since Katrina and expects the fallout from the oil spill to be worse due to the loss of jobs along the coast. As Dr. Hebert explained, “You can rebuild a house, but if you take away a person’s livelihood you take away their ability to feed their children.” In fact, Dr. Hebert was so impressive one woman behind me purred, “Cousteau is great and all, but who is that man up there with him?”

Going forward Cousteau and Dr. Hebert agreed that we should focus on the environmental legacy we leave behind; no child deserves an environment that is anything less than what we inherited.

While we wait to see if the well cap holds, and whether BP is held responsible for it’s actions perhaps we should also take responsibility for our actions and try to wean ourselves off our carbon addiction. After all… maybe the oil was buried deep because we weren’t suppose to find it.

Article by Raegan Payne appearing courtesy Celsias.

photo: lumis

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