Tag: Deepwater Horizon

Millions of gallons of oil from BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout have been discovered in the sediments on the Gulf of Mexico’s floor says a new report, giving lie to the petroleum giant’s continue claims that it eradicated the worst consequences of the biggest maritime oil spill in US history. This and other studies are offering documentary evidence that backs findings by independent researchers who have spoken to Bellona, and begin to assemble the puzzle about where mutated fish life, plunging seafood harvests, continued oily beaches and persisting and emergent human health conditions are coming from. The Florida State University issued a report, which comes amid the third and final stage of BP’s civil trial over the spill. Earlier this month, an expert witness for BP testified that the Gulf’s shoreline had shown “substantial recovery” since the spill, and that BP’s work to clean up the oil had been “comprehensive” and “effective.” But this and other studies – as well as compelling expert testimony at the trial – show that the spill’s lasting impact on the Gulf – and the amount of oil left in it – are far from being determined. The last week of the civil trial, in which the US Justice Department is ...

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled on the issues raised in the Phase 2 trial of the Deepwater Horizon case: the quantification of oil spilled and BP’s source control efforts following the accident. The Court found that 3.19 million barrels of oil were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico and therefore subject to a Clean Water Act (CWA) penalty. In addition, the Court found that BP was not grossly negligent in its source control efforts. No penalty has yet been determined. The decisions in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials represent steps in the process of assessing a CWA penalty. The third phase of the CWA trial, currently scheduled to begin in the Court on Tuesday, 20 January, 2015, will address the penalty to be assessed. During the penalty proceedings, the Court is required to consider the application of eight statutory factors, including the violator’s efforts to minimize or mitigate the effects of the spill: the seriousness of the violation or violations; the nature, extent, and degree of success of any efforts of the violator to minimize or mitigate the effects of the discharge; the economic impact of the penalty on the violator; ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to amend requirements under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) to improve the nation’s ability to plan for and respond to oil spills. This proposal addresses issues raised by the public, responders, government, and industry officials during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. “Our emergency officials need the best available science and safety information to make informed spill response decisions when evaluating the use of specific products on oil discharges,” said Mathy Stanislaus, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. “Our proposed amendments incorporate scientific advances and lessons learned from the application of spill-mitigating substances in response to oil discharges and will help ensure that the emergency planners and responders are well-equipped to protect human health and the environment.” The proposed Subpart J revisions include: New and revised product toxicity and efficacy test methodologies for dispersants, and other chemical and biological agents; New toxicity and efficacy criteria for listing agents on the Subpart J Product Schedule; Additional human health and safety information requirements from manufacturers; Revised area planning requirements for chemical and biological agent use authorization; and New dispersant monitoring requirements when used on ...

Since the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in 2010, Annette Engel has been traveling the coastline by boat and foot, taking samples to study how the oil has changed the coastal ecosystems. The associate professor in earth and planetary sciences, and her team have made new discoveries about bacterial diversity and oil degradation processes never before seen in marshes—and thanks to a new grant, their work can continue. Through a collaboration with the Coastal Waters Consortium (led by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, LUMCON), and funded from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Engel and her team of graduate and undergraduate students and research staff will receive $849,000 over the next three years. This is the second round of funding provided by GoMRI to LUMCON and other consortia. GoMRI is a ten-year research initiative established in 2010 and funded by a $500 million commitment by BP. Over the past three years, Engel’s research has uncovered fundamental changes in the types of bacterial communities associated with oil and carbon degradation. These changes, which affect the quality and quantity of oil by removing some compounds and concentrating others, also affect the overall ecosystem. For example, microbial changes correlate to increased concentrations of ...

Hyundai Heavy Industries has awarded ABS a contract to develop subsea pipeline design and training guidelines in support of FEED  ABS has announced the award of a contract from South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to develop a set of subsea pipeline design criteria and associated training materials. The criteria will include guidelines for global buckling and stability analyses supplemental to the ABS Guide for Building and Classing Subsea Pipeline Systems and applicable industry and site condition standards. As a significant number of deepwater and ultra deepwater subsea fields come online within the next decade, offshore pipeline infrastructure will need to be expanded safely to transport additional production volumes to shore. One potential hazard to designing subsea pipelines is buckling, which can compromise structural integrity due to loss of in-place stability and potential development of excessive bending. ABS will analyze this and other potential subsea pipeline design issues to support the safe and reliable development of transportation infrastructure as well as subsea processing systems. "As operations move farther offshore into deeper water and high pressure/high temperature environments, subsea pipelines must be designed in accordance with the full range of industry design standards as those standards are one of the ...

Nearly five years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion led to the release of roughly 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are still working to answer the question: Where did all the oil go? During the 2010 crisis, some of the oil gushing from the seafloor appeared as slicks on the sea surface, while roughly half of it, scientists estimate, remained trapped in deep ocean plumes of mixed oil and gas, one of which was more than a mile wide, hundreds of feet high and extended for miles southwest of the broken riser pipe at the damaged Macondo well. Many natural processes—like evaporation and biodegradation—and human actions—like the use of dispersants and flaring of gas at the surface—impacted the chemical makeup and fate of the oil, adding to the complexity of accounting for it.  A paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides a piece of the puzzle, analyzing the oil that ended up on the seafloor, establishing its footprint, rough quantity and likely deposition mechanism, and pegging its source to that deep ocean plume of mixed oil and gas. “In 2010, we only considered that material flowing from the well ...

NOAA and its fellow Natural Resource Damage Assessment trustees in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have announced the signing of a formal Record of Decision to implement a Gulf restoration plan. The 44 projects, totaling an estimated $627 million, will restore barrier islands, shorelines, dunes, underwater grasses and oyster beds. This announcement marks the largest suite of Gulf early restoration projects selected thus far in the wake of the 2010 oil spill. The projects aim to address a range of injuries to natural resources and the subsequent loss of recreational use. "Preserving, protecting, and restoring natural resources is an integral part of our efforts to foster resilience in communities nationwide, including those affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill," said Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "These projects reflect an earnest commitment to the Gulf and will enhance the region's economic, social, and ecological resilience in the future." As outlined in the Final Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan and Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, NOAA is supporting an overall Early Restoration plan that includes both ecological and human use projects. It is also fully supporting 44 specific projects ...

NOAA and its fellow trustees have announced the signing of a formal Record of Decision to implement a Deepwater Horizon Gulf restoration plan

California Air Resources Board issued a Marine Notice regarding the compliance with the California Ocean-Going Vessel Fuel Regulation1 during the Air Resources Board Sunset Review Process as follows: The California Ocean-Going Vessel (OGV) Fuel Regulation includes a sunset provision2 which states that the requirements of the California OGV Fuel Regulation will cease to apply if the United States adopts and enforces requirements that will achieve equivalent emissions reductions to the California OGV Fuel Regulation within Regulated California Waters. The provision further states that the California OGV Fuel Regulation requirements will remain in effect until the Executive Officer issues written findings that the federal requirements will achieve equivalent emission reductions and are being enforced within Regulated California Waters. In accordance with this provision, Air Resources Board (ARB) staff is conducting a sunset review as allowed by the California OGV Fuel Regulation. During ARB staff’s sunset review, which is expected to extend beyond January 2015, the California OGV Fuel Regulation will remain in effect and will continue to be enforced. Vessel operators must ensure that they meet both the California OGV Fuel Regulation and the North American Emission Control Area (ECA Regulation) 3 requirements. We do not anticipate any undue difficulty for vessel ...