Oil Spill News

White House Panel: Oil Industry Needs Safety Culture, Accountability

The White House oil spill commission Thursday challenged offshore drillers to boost safety standards, detailing proposals for the creation of an independent, self-regulating industry group and reform of government oversight. Created in the aftermath of the BP drilling accident in …

How BP’s Gulf Oil Disaster Costs Could Double

Analysts’ dividend forecasts point to steady recovery BP, analysts, may be underestimating legal charges BP has history of low-balling long-term cost of disasters “Gross negligence,” punitive damages not ruled out Analysis shows how $50 billion could be added to cost …

Final Claims Process for BP Oil Disaster Victims Begins

The administrator of the $20-billion fund created by BP Plc to compensate Gulf of Mexico oil spill victims announced plans Wednesday for processing final payments. Administrator Kenneth Feinberg said in a news release that claimants have a choice, a lump …

BP Claimants Face Deadline, Choice to Settle Now or Later

Fishermen and business owners stung by a summer of lost revenue from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have until Wednesday to file their compensation claims for short-term damages, but accepting a settlement check is a gamble. Many will eventually …

BP’s Deep Cleaning of Gulf Beaches Getting Mixed Reviews

At Orange Beach in Alabama, what’s typically a beautiful, quiet stretch of beach in the fall now resembles a construction site. Bulldozers and yellow dump trucks shake the ground; a giant sifting machine spits clean sand out one end, tar …

BP Could Gain Claimants’ Rights to Sue Other Oil Spill Firms

Claimants to BP Plc’s $20 billion oil spill fund may soon be required to transfer to the company their right to sue other defendants, a move that could help BP’s efforts to collect billions of dollars from its business partners. …

Declarations

Not Cutting Corners “To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety.” —The White House oil spill commission’s Chief Counsel Fred Bartlit said at a meeting exploring …

Commercial Lines Capacity ‘Remains Plentiful’ Underwriting capacity remains plentiful across most lines of commercial insurance and there are no significant insurance coverage restrictions, despite major losses associated with the Deepwater Horizon spill and the Chilean earthquake, according to a recent …

Declarations

Yes, You Can “They said, ‘Yes, we have that authority.’” —Elaine Skorich, an assistant attorney general in West Virginia praising a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the authority of West Virginia’s mine safety office to suspend coal miners. The decision …

Big Oil Firms Need Top-to-Bottom Safety Reform, Says Commission

Complacency at BP, as well as at Transocean Ltd and Halliburton, led to serious missteps prior to the rig explosion that unleashed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the summer, the heads of the White …