Obama blames BP and orders probe

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/20105231713717747.html


The US president has blamed the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on "a breakdown of responsibility" at energy giant BP as he unveiled a commission to investigate the disaster.

Barack Obama, in his weekly radio and internet address on Saturday, also said offshore oil drilling could only go forward if there were assurances that such an accident would not happen again.

"First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton," Obama said in his toughest remarks yet on companies linked to the spill.

"And we will continue to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and transparent about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it down, repairing the damage it does, and repaying Americans who've suffered a financial loss," he said.

Growing anger

A month after the well blowout and rig explosion that killed 11 workers, anger is growing along the Gulf Coast as heavy oil washes into delicate coastal wetlands, damaging fishing grounds and wildlife.

In his executive order announcing Bob Graham, a former Democratic senator, and William Reilly, a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, as co-chairmen of the commission, Obama made his first reference to the possibility of a criminal investigation.

"The commission shall ensure that it does not interfere with or disrupt any ongoing or anticipated civil or criminal investigation or law enforcement activities or any effort to recover response costs or damages arising out of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire and oil spill," the order stated.

The administration is keeping the pressure on BP on many fronts as it strives to show it is being resolute in the face of what many believe is already the worst US oil spill, eclipsing the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska.

BP, in charge of the cleanup, said it would be at least Tuesday before engineers can shoot mud into the blown-out well - yet another delay in the effort to stop the oil.

The oil giant made no immediate comment on Obama's remarks, but the company's chief executive, Tony Hayward, said he welcomed the establishment of the commission and pledged to work with its co-chairmen.

"We share the goal of the president and the public to know what happened to cause this accident and what regulatory and industry changes are needed to help prevent something like this from happening again," Hayward said in a statement.

Hayward has said that "the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest".

Hayward also recently said that "the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean - the amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume".

Dispersant dispute

The EPA expressed frustration on Saturday when it released BP's response to its directive on dispersants instructing the company to evaluate pre-approved dispersants for toxicity and effectiveness.

It accused BP and some of the manufacturers involved of withholding information by invoking business confidentiality.

"EPA continues to strongly urge these companies to voluntarily make this information public so Americans can get a full picture of the potential environmental impact of these alternative dispersants," it said. It did not name the companies.

In its response released by the EPA, BP said Corexit, a dispersant manufactured by Nalco Holding Co that it has been using, was the only one immediately available in sufficient quantities to tackle the spill and "remains the best option for subsea application".

It also said that "within 28 days of application it does not persist in the environment" and asked to discuss the situation with the Coast Guard and the EPA before they issue "directives requiring a change in dispersant products".

Some environmentalists have expressed concerns that the chemicals in dispersants may have a lasting harmful impact.

Changing numbers

BP on Friday revised downward an earlier estimate that one of its containment solutions, a 1.6-km-long siphon tube inserted into the larger of two seabed ruptures, was catching 5,000 barrels (795,000 litres) per day of oil.

BP captured 2,200 barrels in the 24 hours to midnight, according to the incident response team, the same figure it had for the previous 24-hour period.

Some scientists have dismissed an original estimate of 5,000 bpd of the total leaking oil - often defended by BP executives - as ridiculously low and say it could be 70,000 barrels or 11 million litres per day, or more.

Obama permits offshore oil drilling

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2010/03/201033118235692566.html

Barack Obama, the US president, has unveiled a controversial new plan to extend drilling for oil and gas off America's coasts.

Obama said on Wednesday that his administration would consider new areas for drilling along the southern Atlantic coastline and the Gulf of Mexico, in a reversal of a long-standing ban on offshore drilling.

But he rejected some new drilling sites that had been planned for parts of Alaska.

"This is not a decision that I've made lightly," he said, during a speech at a military base outside Washington, DC.

"We're announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America's natural resources."

Obama said his decision is part of a broader strategy that also includes expanding the production of nuclear power and other clean energy sources.

But he warned that expanding drilling is not the solution to the country's energy challenges.

"Drilling alone can't come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and for the sake of our planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now."

Seeking bipartisan support

White House officials have pitched the changes as ways to reduce US reliance on foreign oil and create jobs.

Obama also indicated that his decision was based in part on winning Republican approval for a climate change bill that has stalled in congress.

Obama, a Democrat, needs bipartisan support to pass the bill that would set limits on US greenhouse gas emissions.

"I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that's going to foster new energy -- new industries, create millions of new jobs, protect our planet, and help us become more energy independent," he said.

Some senior congressional Republicans called the announcement a step forward, but said Obama did not go far enough.

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction, but a small one that leaves enormous amounts of American energy off limits," Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said.

Environmental opposition


For more than 20 years, drilling was banned in most offshore areas of the US outside the Gulf of Mexico because of concerns that spills could harm the environment.

Obama's plan offers few concessions to environmentalists, who have been strident in their opposition to more oil platforms off the nation's shores.

Environmental groups and some legislators continue to raise concerns about the impact increased drilling would have on coastal areas.

Tyson Slocum, the director of the Public Citizen's Energy Programme, which advocates for affordable, clean and sustainable energy, said the plan will not contribute to a climate change deal.

"It's bad strategy from Obama's strand point to give such a significant environmental concession, without knowing exactly what he's getting in return," he told Al Jazeera.

"In terms of addressing national energy security or lowering gasoline prices, the department of energy ... found that opening these areas to expanded off-shore drilling would only reduce gasoline prices in the US by an average of three cents a gallon.

"The United States is not Saudi Arabia. We do not sit on a mountain of oil reserves. This expansion is going to come at potentially great costs to sensitive ecosystems on the coasts."

Hybrid proposal

Obama announced other energy proposals on Wednesday that were more likely to find praise from environmental groups, including plans to cut his government's direct dependence on petrol-only vehicles.

"In order to save energy and taxpayer dollars, my administration is doubling the number of hybrid vehicles in the federal fleet, even as we seek to reduce the number of cars and trucks used by our government overall," he said.

"We’re going to lead by example and practice what we preach: cutting waste, saving energy, and reducing our reliance on foreign oil."


The administration has been weighing the pros and cons of offshore drilling since it took office and put a hold on a Bush-era proposal which called for drilling along the East Coast and off the coast of California.