The Environment / Oil Spills

• Even Keel Needed off Coast of Brazil

  An oil spill off the coast of Brazil has sparked a political firestorm in what may one day be a global production leader. The Brazilian government is throwing the books at Chevron, while the U.S. supermajor tries to dodge legal bullets. There's no such thing as too much caution in the wake of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico but Brasilia might be inhibiting its own potential in an effort to send the warning that it means business offshore. Roughly 3,000 barrels of oil spilled off the coast of Rio de Janiero in November at the Chevron-operated Frade…

• Energy Pragmatism Dies in New Zealand

  Shell won approval from the U.S. government for its oil spill response plan for work the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. Washington said it welcomed the "science-based" approach to oil exploration in the arctic waters, where production levels could reach around 700,000 barrels per day. More than 400 pages of information from Shell and approval from federal agencies charged with ensuring the safety of offshore energy developments, however, did little to discourage environmental groups from waging war. Shell said it has plans to drill as many as six wells in the Chukchi Sea, a remote region thousands of miles…

• Chevron's Underhand Tactics to Avoid Paying for Worlds Worst Oil Disaster

  The Andean Commission of Jurists and five prestigious international law experts from around the world have joined a growing chorus of criticism targeting Chevron's attempt to use a secret investor arbitration as part of its campaign to evade an $18 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador, according to letters released today. In a letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Andean Commission said it was "alarmed" at Chevron's attempt to use a private investor arbitration convened under the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty ("BIT") to influence the outcome of a private litigation between indigenous groups and Chevron in Ecuador's courts.…

• In Warning to Polluters, Brazil to Impose Record Fine on Chevron and Transocean

  On 8 November oil began leaking from well 9-FR-50DP-RJS in 3,930 feet of water in Brazil’s Campo de Frade offshore field, 230 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro state in the Campos Basin. In October the Frade field, which has been in production since 2009, produced 76,000 barrels a day of oil and natural gas. Chevron Corp. maintains that upon receiving approval from the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum on 13 November, its subsidiary Chevron do Brasil Ltd immediately began plugging and abandonment activities and subsequently announced that the oil flow was stopped within four days, although on 24 November…

• BP Accuses Halliburton of Destroying Evidence of its Involvement in the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

  BP claims Halliburton Energy Services Inc. intentionally destroyed evidence that proved the firm shared the blame for last year's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. According to BP's federal court filing yesterday, Halliburton hid test results showing samples of the cement used to seal BP's Macondo well after it exploded. The fight is getting ugly as BP and Halliburton sue each other over the fault of the blow-out that resulted in 11 deaths, hundreds of lawsuits from locally damaged businesses and the country's worst offshore oil spill in history. "BP has now learned the reason for Halliburton's intransigence -- Halliburton…

• A Look at Oil Spills and Oil Spill Prevention

  Leaks happen whether anyone wants them to or not. All that can be done is to try to anticipate them and prevent them by useful maintenance and repairs before the leak happens. A computer model that tests automobile components for crashworthiness could also be of use to the oil and gas industry, according to researchers at MIT’s Impact and Crashworthiness Laboratory, who are now using their simulations of material deformation in car crashes to predict how pipes may fracture in offshore drilling accidents. President Barack Obama in May 2010 stated that the federal government needs to look at getting the…

• Private Investigators Findings on the Deepwater Horizon Commission Report

  A Closer Look at The Commission Report on the Deepwater Horizon Disaster The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling has released its report to the President entitled, “Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling.” It is dedicated to the 11 men who perished on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.  The seven-member Commission was charged with investigating the disaster, analyzing its causes and effects and providing recommendations to minimize future risks.  At 398 pages, it provides a thorough account of what happened in the calm waters of the Gulf of…

• Methane Gas Concentration at Normal Levels in Gulf of Mexico Following Spill

  There is a relationship between known hydrocarbon (oil and natural gas) discoveries at great depth in the Gulf of Mexico and hydrocarbon seepage such as Methane at the seafloor. Chemosynthetic communities are associated with these seeps. They are remarkable in that they utilize a carbon source independent of photosynthesis and the sun-dependent photosynthetic food chain that supports all other life on Earth. Chemosynthetic communities occur in isolated areas with thin veneers of sediment only a few meters thick. Calling the results "extremely surprising," researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Texas A&M University report that methane gas concentrations…

• Methane From Deepwater Horizon Spill Being Consumed by Microbes 100 Times Faster Than Expected

  The Deepwater Horizon spill was a horrible environmental disaster which caused the release of massive amounts of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Methane, a natural greenhouse gas, was also released during the catastrophe. However, researchers have found that the methane is being consumed by microbes at a rate 10 to 100 times faster than previously believed. These microbes are essential in bringing the Gulf back to a healthier state. Methane naturally seeps at spots scattered across the sea floor. Special microbes have evolved to digest and thrive off the methane, a carbon-based organic compound. During normal conditions, most…

• Climate Change a Major Factor in Weather Related Natural Disasters – Munich Re

  Reinsurance giant Munich Re has cited climate change as a major factor in the “marked increase” in worldwide weather-related natural disasters in the first nine months of the year. The conclusion comes as the group puts global insurance losses due to weather-related natural catastrophes at $18 billion for the months January to September, while the bill for overall losses has come in at more than $65 billion. Events such as severe flooding in Pakistan and wildfires in Russia contributed to the 725 weather-related natural hazard events recorded by Munich Re in the first nine months of the year – the…