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• OSHA impersonator gets 57 months in oil spill scam

  May 17, 2013 4:21 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A woman has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for bilking Gulf Coast residents by posing as a federal safety official after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The U.S. Justice Department said Friday that 47-year-old Connie Knight, formerly of Belle Chasse, had claimed to be... more »

• BP manager testifies at trial over Gulf oil spill

  April 15, 2013 9:15 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A BP team leader who supervised managers on the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says he was frustrated by last-minute changes to the drilling project but didn't have any safety concerns before the deadly blast. John Guide was the first witness to... more »

• Oil spill trial to resume today

  April 2, 2013 8:51 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Legal proceedings in the 2010 deadly Deepwater Horizon disaster is scheduled to resume Tuesday with testimony expected from a Halliburton employee who was on the rig when it exploded. Jesse Gagliano worked on the failed cement job that led to BP's well blowout. He was interviewed by... more »

• Rig owner's CEO testifies at Gulf oil spill trial

  March 19, 2013 9:19 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The chief executive of the company that owned the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 says its employees "should have done more" to avert the disaster that killed 11 workers and caused the nation's worst offshore oil spill. Transocean president and CEO... more »

• High-stakes trial resumes over 2010 Gulf oil spill

  February 26, 2013 9:15 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A University of California-Berkeley engineer who played a prominent role in investigating levee breeches in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to be the first witness Tuesday at a trial over the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Robert Bea is an expert witness for... more »

• Blast victims' relatives weigh in on BP plea deal

  January 16, 2013 10:17 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Relatives of workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion are sharing their stories with the judge who will decide whether to accept a plea deal that calls for BP PLC to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties for the 2010 disaster. Wednesday is the deadline... more »

• BP settlement payments exceed $1B mark

  January 10, 2013 7:33 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Businesses and individuals who claim BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico cost them money have been paid more than $1 billion through the company's class-action settlement with private plaintiffs' attorneys. Court-supervised claims administrator Patrick Juneau says payments hit the $1 billion mark before the... more »

• Transocean spill settlement heads to court

  January 9, 2013 7:38 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Transocean Ltd. is scheduled to make an initial court appearance in New Orleans Wednesday for its plea agreement with the Justice Department over the company's role in the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean has agreed to pay $400 million in criminal... more »

• La. buys wetlands with oil spill settlement funds

  January 8, 2013 10:28 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The state has acquired more than 11,000 acres of wetlands in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes as part of a conservation project funded by a settlement over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana said Monday that the $6.7 million purchase of the... more »

• Transocean's $1.4B oil spill deal will help Gulf

  January 4, 2013 7:14 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A $1.4 billion settlement between the Justice Department and Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into projects designed to help the Gulf Coast recover from the nation's largest offshore oil spill. U.S. Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said... more »

• La. to see millions from Transocean settlement

  January 3, 2013 3:47 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana lawmakers trumpeted the fact that the state will see hundreds of millions of dollars as part of the federal government's $1.4 billion settlement with Transocean today over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The final terms of the settlement require Transocean, which owned the drilling rig... more »

• Source of persistent Gulf sheen remains a mystery

  December 18, 2012 4:19 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Officials say underwater inspections at the site of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig disaster have failed to identify the source of a persistent sheen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard said Tuesday that the recent inspections confirmed BP's Macondo well, which blew out... more »

• Ex-BP executive seeks trial delay in spill case

  December 7, 2012 8:56 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A former BP executive is asking a federal judge to postpone his trial on charges he concealed information from Congress about the amount of oil that was spewing from the company's blown-out well in 2010. A trial for David Rainey is scheduled to start Jan. 28.... more »

• New judge assigned to case against BP supervisors

  December 5, 2012 3:07 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A new judge has been assigned to the case against two BP supervisors charged in the deaths of 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in 2010. The case had been assigned to U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle, who disclosed last month that his wife owns... more »

• BP official appeals medical exam order

  December 5, 2012 11:31 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A BP PLC employee has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that he must submit to a medical exam to determine whether he is fit to be questioned under oath in civil litigation spawned by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. A three-judge panel of... more »

• 3 BP employees arraigned on Gulf oil spill charges

  November 28, 2012 3:44 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Two BP rig supervisors and a former BP executive have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in the deadly Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and the company's response to the massive 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP well site leaders Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine and... more »

• BP arraigned in oil spill case, pleads not guilty

  November 27, 2012 3:21 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A lawyer for BP PLC entered a not-guilty plea for the company as it was arraigned on charges stemming from a deadly 2010 rig explosion and massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The plea Tuesday in federal court was a procedural move paving the... more »

• BP settles with US for $4.5 billion in Gulf spill

  November 15, 2012 7:36 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will speak in New Orleans about the government's $4.5 billion settlement with BP over the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Department of Justice said Holder and top U.S. officials will hold a news conference at 1:00 p.m.... more »

• Crews plan visit to rig wreckage, find source of "new oil"

  October 12, 2012 10:09 PM

  NEW ORLEANS- Crews will use remotely operated vehicles to get a look at the Deepwater Horizon wreckage, and hopefully pinpoint the source of a new oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico. This week, the sheen was connected to the BP spill in 2010. The ROV is expected to... more »

• Old oil washes up in La. after Hurricane Isaac

  September 5, 2012 8:18 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Old oil has washed up on some Louisiana beaches after Hurricane Isaac and officials are testing whether it's left over from BP's Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. Officials late Tuesday restricted fishing in waters extending a mile off a roughly 13-mile stretch of coastline. The... more »

• Family of Deepwater Horizon victim reflects on loss two years later

  April 20, 2012 9:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Two years without Gordon Jones is still a hard reality for his father Keith. "I feel angry, disappointed, I feel cheated," he said. Gordon, 28-years-old when he died, had a wife, 2-year-old son Stafford, and baby boy Max on the way, he would never meet. But... more »

• BP reaches settlement with maker of failed preventer

  December 16, 2011 6:40 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - BP will receive $250 million from the maker of the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing out of BP's fractured well in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Associated Press. Under the agreement announced Friday, BP and Cameron International Corp. will drop all... more »

• White House releases report on Gulf restoration

  December 5, 2011 9:04 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Obama administration has released a report on how the Gulf Coast can be restored following the nation's worst offshore oil spill after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana in April 2010. The report from the White House's Gulf of Mexico... more »

• BP, 2 other companies cited over Gulf oil spill

  October 12, 2011 5:20 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Federal regulators have cited oil company BP PLC and two other companies - Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton - for alleged safety and environmental violations stemming from last year's rig explosion and massive oil spill in the Gulf. The companies have 60 days to appeal Wednesday's citations... more »

• Federal report highlights need to clean Gulf Coast

  October 5, 2011 2:11 PM

  HOUSTON - Five coastal states are determined to clean up the damaged Gulf of Mexico ecosystem after last year's oil spill highlighted how decades of contamination and deterioration had placed a backbone of the U.S. economy at risk of ruin, according to a federal report released Wednesday. The Gulf... more »

• BP applies for first gulf drilling permit since explosion

  September 26, 2011 5:49 PM

  BATON ROUGE- BP has applied for its first Gulf of Mexico drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill. It was filed last week, one week after BP was cited in a federal report for several violations related to the disaster. Some... more »

• BP oil not degrading on Gulf floor, study says

  September 20, 2011 12:25 PM

  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Researchers say tar balls washed on to Gulf of Mexico beaches by Tropical Storm Lee prove that oil left over from last year's BP spill isn't breaking down as quickly as some assume. Auburn University said Tuesday that its study shows the tar that hit Alabama... more »

• New evidence cites more BP oil spill mistakes

  September 13, 2011 4:56 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Interviews and documents obtained by The Associated Press show a BP scientist identified a previously unreported deposit of flammable gas that could have played a role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. But the oil giant failed to divulge the finding to government investigators for at... more »

• Halliburton sues BP over Macondo well blowout

  September 2, 2011 12:32 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Halliburton has filed a lawsuit in a Texas state court against BP PLC claiming the oil giant provided it with inaccurate information about the deepwater well that blew out and spawned last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It's the latest of several... more »

• More BP Claims Offices Closing

  August 31, 2011 5:48 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Seven of the remaining 27 BP claims offices helping people with the aftereffects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be closed effective Thursday, according to claims administrator Ken Feinberg. Two of the closures are in Louisiana, the New Iberia and Venice locations. Many businesses in... more »

• Oil still problem on Mississippi islands

  August 10, 2011 12:40 PM

  OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - Mats of oil are still in evidence along Horn Island's west end, more than a year after the BP oil disaster. BP spokesman Ray Melick tells The SunHerald that the company is gearing up to return to Horn Island with sand-cleaning crews as soon as... more »

• Feds: Gulf disaster final report delayed slightly

  July 22, 2011 12:40 PM

  ATLANTA - A joint final report by the U.S. Coast Guard and the federal agency that regulates offshore drilling on what caused last year's Gulf of Mexico disaster will be delayed again. Following several extensions, the Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement was due... more »

• BP denied White House emails on oil spill response

  July 20, 2011 12:30 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A federal magistrate has refused to order the White House to provide BP with emails by a former top adviser to President Barack Obama about the administration's response to last summer's massive Gulf oil spill. A company lawyer said emails by Carol Browner, Obama's former adviser... more »

• BP wants to end future loss claims

  July 8, 2011 1:00 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - BP is arguing that most victims of last year's Gulf oil spill should not get any more payouts for future losses because the hardest-hit areas are recovering and the economy is growing. The British oil company argues its case in a 29-page document made public Friday... more »

• BP asks judge to dismiss many spill claims

  May 26, 2011 12:50 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - BP PLC is asking a federal judge to dismiss most of the court claims filed against the oil giant by businesses and individuals who say they suffered economic damage from last year's massive Gulf oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier didn't immediately rule Thursday after... more »

• Vitter blocks Salazar pay hike in drilling battle

  May 25, 2011 12:42 PM

  WASHINGTON - A senator upset with the pace in which the Obama administration is approving deep-water oil drilling permits has blocked a pay raise for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. Salazar is crying foul, accusing Louisiana Republican David Vitter of employing strong-arm tactics and of trying to coerce him into... more »

• BP receives help to settle oil spill claims

  May 20, 2011 3:01 AM

  LONDON- BP PLC says MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC, its minority partner in the blown-out Deepwater Horizon well, has agreed to pay the British company $1.065 billion to settle all claims between the companies over the accident in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said Friday that it will immediately put the... more »

• Report: Transocean contributed to Gulf disaster

  April 22, 2011 3:37 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - A Coast Guard probe of the Deepwater Horizon explosion has concluded that rig owner Transocean had serious flaws in its safety management system and a poor safety culture that contributed to the disaster. Friday's report also found that lax oversight by the rig's flag state, the... more »

• BP sues maker of blowout preventer

  April 20, 2011 4:52 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - BP is suing the maker of the device that failed to stop last year's calamitous Gulf oil spill, alleging negligence that the oil giant says helped cause the disaster. The British company says in papers filed in federal court in New Orleans on Wednesday that Cameron... more »

• Victim's family says safety still not a priority a year after Deepwater Horizon explosion

  April 19, 2011 9:47 PM

  BATON ROUGE- The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon is still fresh in the minds of the people who lost loved ones and they contend safety offshore still isn't a priority. Keith Jones' son, Gordon, was an engineer on-board the rig. He was one of 11 killed a year ago... more »

• Fla. will skip oil spill lawsuit against rig owner

  April 19, 2011 11:36 AM

  PANAMA CITY, Fla. - Florida won't join a lawsuit against the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded a year ago, causing the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Wednesday is the deadline for joining a federal lawsuit against Transocean in New Orleans. The state... more »

• AP: Experts fear another oil disaster

  April 14, 2011 3:46 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - With everything Big Oil and the government have learned in the year since the Gulf of Mexico disaster, could it happen again? Absolutely. An Associated Press examination of the industry and interviews with experts on the perils of deep-sea drilling show there are still serious... more »

• Parents of Gulf rig worker killed settles legal claims

  April 9, 2011 11:17 AM

  NEW ORLEANS- The parents of a rig worker killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion nearly a year ago settled their legal claims against companies involved in the Gulf of Mexico. A federal court filing in New Orleans says the parents of M-I Swaco mud engineer Blair Manuel settled with... more »

• LSU student designs way to prevent oil spills

  April 8, 2011 6:16 PM

  BATON ROUGE-- Louisiana State University senior Chase Menard has come up with a way to prevent another catastrophic oil spill like Deepwater Horizon. Menard says the method he's been working on since February is simple: install two pressure sensors deep below the surface, which will monitor gas bubbles that... more »

• Judge: Lawyers suing BP can see engineer's emails

  March 28, 2011 3:42 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Lead attorneys for people suing BP over last year's oil spill can view emails exchanged between a key engineer for the oil giant and his wife, a federal magistrate judge ruled Monday. Judge Sally Shushan said the marital privilege doctrine does not protect the emails Brian... more »

• Probe: Pipe piece caused blowout preventer failure

  March 23, 2011 11:19 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A federal probe has found that a trapped piece of drill pipe prevented a key failsafe device from properly sealing off the blown oil well that caused last year's massive Gulf oil spill, according to a report released Wednesday. The 551-page report said the device, known... more »

• LSU scientists honored for work during oil spill

  March 15, 2011 5:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has honored a team of scientists at LSU for "extraordinary" work during and after the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill. Ed Overton, professor emeritus in LSU's School of the Coast and Environment, and his team of scientists were recently given the... more »

• Feds: No unsafe conditions on BP platform

  March 6, 2011 9:04 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The federal agency that oversees the offshore oil and gas industry says an investigation into BP's Atlantis platform in the Gulf of Mexico found some problems, but none that caused unsafe conditions. The agency found problems with the way the company organized, stored and labeled engineering drawings... more »

• Casino workers may get oil spill funds

  March 6, 2011 8:54 AM

  JACKSON, Miss. - The group charged with administrating BP's$20 billion Gulf oil spill fund says it will start processing claims from casino workers next week. Kenneth Feinberg, the Washington lawyer who oversees the fund, said Friday through a spokeswoman that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility will begin processing 2,500 claims... more »

• Device that failed to stop oil spill may be flawed

  March 4, 2011 3:05 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Federal investigators say there may have been a safety design problem with the pods that controlled the massive device that failed to stop the Gulf oil spill, and they want more testing done to confirm that. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is objecting to the government's... more »

• Governor Jindal announces $12 million for coast

  March 1, 2011 5:42 PM

  BATON ROUGE- Governor Bobby Jindal says there are urgent needs along the coast that must be addressed immediately. He announced plans to spend $12 million dollars to re-establish oyster beds and stabilize the coast. BP would reimburse the state at some point in the future. Jindal and other... more »

• State money will aid spring oyster spawn

  February 21, 2011 1:06 PM

  HOUMA, La. - To ensure that the state's oyster crop has a chance to rebound this spring after the Gulf oil spill, the state has committed $2 million to immediately restore oyster grounds. The Courier reports the state's committment was announced by Garret Graves, chairman of the state's Coastal... more »

• Panel: BP faulted cement work years before blowout

  February 17, 2011 12:47 PM

  WASHINGTON - A presidential oil spill panel says BP had problems with work by its cement company long before the massive Gulf oil well blowout, which investigations have blamed on cement failing at the bottom of the hole. But BP apparently didn't do much, if anything, about it. ... more »

• Sierra Club seeks to join suit against BP

  February 8, 2011 8:28 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The Sierra Club is seeking to join a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department against BP PLC. over the company's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. On Monday, the Sierra Club asked a federal judge to allow it to become involved in the suit against BP.... more »

• US to oil spill claims czar: loosen purse strings

  February 4, 2011 1:13 PM

  ATLANTA - The Justice Department is telling the administrator of the $20 billion fund for Gulf oil spill victims that his job is not to preserve money or return it to BP, and is insisting he loosen the purse strings to help people who are still suffering from last year's... more »

• Judge asked to intervene in BP claims process

  February 1, 2011 4:48 PM

  BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s governor and attorney general want a judge to step in and oversee communications between people claiming a portion of BP’s oil spill compensation fund and the fund’s administrator, Ken Feinberg. Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed the motion in federal court in New Orleans today. It asks... more »

• Judge defends spill decision that miffed AG Caldwell

  January 28, 2011 11:09 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge is defending his decision to appoint Alabama's newly elected attorney general to coordinate all states' interests in the litigation spawned by the Deepwater Horizon explosion that led to the Gulf oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said in court Friday that his appointment... more »

• Oyster bed restoration among first since oil spill

  January 24, 2011 10:08 AM

  MOBILE - Volunteers from across the country are rebuilding oyster reefs along the Gulf of Mexico's delicate shoreline, hoping to revive oyster beds under assault for decades from overharvesting, coastal development, pollution, and most recently the BP oil spill. The waters harbor much of the world's last remaining productive natural... more »

• Drilling chief wants higher fines for offenses

  January 13, 2011 12:47 PM

  WASHINGTON - The nation's top offshore drilling regulator says his agency is considering ways to increase civil penalties for companies that violate drilling rules. Current rules allow fines of up to $35,000 per incident per day. Michael Bromwich, director of the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,... more »

• Oil still fouling La. marshes

  January 7, 2011 12:44 PM

  PORT SULPHUR - Oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster remains in marshes off the coast of Louisiana, where officials are renewing complaints about the cleanup effort by the oil giant BP and the federal government. State and parish officials took media on a tour Friday morning of Barataria Bay, pointing... more »

• Panel: Gulf oil spill could happen again

  January 6, 2011 10:15 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - A presidential panel concludes that disasters like the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig could happen again without significant reform. The panel's conclusions have companies involved in the nation's largest offshore oil spill pointing fingers at each other again. A 48-page excerpt of the panel's report obtained... more »

• Almost no oil recovered from sand berms

  December 16, 2010 12:27 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - The big set of sand barriers erected by Louisiana's governor to protect the coastline at the height of the Gulf oil spill is being criticized by a presidential commission as a colossal, $200 million waste of money so far. Hardly any oil ever reached the berms,... more »

• Local environmentalists react to feds suing BP

  December 15, 2010 10:37 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Local environmentalists applauded the federal government's move on Wednesday to bring BP, Transocean and a few other companies to court over the Gulf oil spill. The Attorney General announced the civil lawsuit is aimed at holding the companies responsible for safety and regulatory violations that caused... more »

• Gulf spill claimants offered new, faster option

  December 13, 2010 12:21 PM

  OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - The administrator of a $20 billion fund paying damages from the Gulf oil spill says claimants who want quick resolution can receive a one-time payment worth thousands of dollars, but they would get no more money. Attorney Kenneth Feinberg said Monday that the new option, which... more »

• Rig worker says she can"t testify at spill hearing

  December 9, 2010 12:44 PM

  HOUSTON - A technician who was aboard the oil rig that exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico says she is too traumatized to testify before a panel investigating the blast and subsequent spill. Cathleena Willis was working for a Halliburton subsidiary the night of the blast that... more »

• Rig worker says she can't testify at spill hearing

  December 9, 2010 12:22 PM

  HOUSTON - A technician who was aboard the oil rig that exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico says she is too traumatized to testify before a panel investigating the blast and subsequent spill. Cathleena Willis was working for Sperry Sun the night of the blast that killed 11... more »

• Feinberg to lay out details on BP spill claims

  November 24, 2010 8:42 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - The deadline to make an emergency Gulf of Mexico oil spill claim is over and the administrator of the $20 billion fund is laying out more details about what happens next. Kenneth R. Feinberg is going to talk to reporters Wednesday about how the process will... more »

• Spill panel details goofs, hero in ending gusher

  November 22, 2010 12:15 PM

  A new study from the presidential oil spill commission details behind-the-scenes tension and mistakes behind the three-month effort to cap the busted BP oil well, with a lone scientist working from a cell phone photo saving the day. Monday's draft report said some BP attempts to stop the gusher... more »

• Experts say nation unprepared for Gulf spill

  November 19, 2010 12:27 PM

  CHARLESTON, S.C. - Experts at an international conference in South Carolina agree the United States was poorly prepared for the spill that pumped about 170 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The government has assured the public that Gulf seafood is safe, but there were differences... more »

• Feds: Spilled-oil burns posed little health risk

  November 12, 2010 12:32 PM

  WASHINGTON - Federal scientists say burning oil to clean up the massive Gulf spill released small amounts of toxins, but not enough to pose an added cancer risk to workers and coastal residents. The U.S. Coast Guard set 411 fires from late April to mid-July, burning off as much... more »

• BP cap bears names of those killed

  November 10, 2010 10:40 AM

  NEW ORLEANS- The final cap on the BP oil well that blew bears a memorial to the 11 men killed in the explosion, on April 20th. Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft says the "capping stack" was installed on Monday on the well and it is the final step in plugging... more »

• Panel: Dollars did not trump safety in Gulf spill

  November 8, 2010 12:08 PM

  WASHINGTON - The presidential commission investigating the massive Gulf oil spill has found no instance where a decision deliberately sacrificed safety to cut costs. Fred H. Bartlit, Jr., the panel's chief counsel, in a presentation Monday said the probe did not uncover any case where an individual made a conscious... more »

• Gov. Jindal announces $78 million in BP funding

  November 1, 2010 11:08 AM

  NEW ORLEANS - Gov. Bobby Jindal says BP has agreed to spend $48 million for Louisiana seafood safety and promotion programs. Jindal, during a news conference Monday, also said the oil giant has agreed to give $30 million to the state department of Culture Recreation and Tourism to promote... more »

• Judge orders test on Halliburton cement in BP oil well

  October 29, 2010 12:34 PM

  GULF OF MEXICO - A federal judge is ordering tests to be performed as soon as possible on cement Halliburton Co. used to seal the BP well that blew out catastrophically in the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said some of the components may be "deteriorating... more »

• Tests warned of cement troubles before BP blowout

  October 28, 2010 12:56 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Investigators with the president's oil spill commission have found that tests performed before the deadly blowout of a BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico should have raised doubts about the cement used to seal the well. But the company and its cementing contractor failed... more »

• Security zone put in place around Deepwater Horizon

  October 27, 2010 3:35 PM

  Federal authorities have ordered a security zone be created around the Deepwater Horizon’s wreckage in order to protect any evidence that may still be near the blown well. The zone extends 750 feet in all directions from the wreckage site and its debris field, and companies that could enter the... more »

• Chefs plan night to support Gulf seafood

  October 27, 2010 12:34 PM

  More than 150 chefs from around the nation are planning to show their support for Gulf of Mexico seafood by cooking and serving it in what's been dubbed "America's Night Out for Gulf Seafood." The Dec. 1 event will see prominent chefs serving seafood to diners, friends and family,... more »

• NOAA opens more Gulf waters to fishing

  October 22, 2010 12:37 PM

  Another area of the Gulf of Mexico has been reopened to commercial and recreational fishing after tests found seafood in the area to have no oil contamination to bar consumption. The 7,037-square-mile area of Gulf waters that was reopened is about 70 miles south of the Florida panhandle, between... more »

• BP sued over spill's toll on wildlife

  October 20, 2010 12:45 PM

  Several environmental groups are suing BP PLC for the oil spill's toll on endangered species of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem. The federal suit filed Wednesday in New Orleans by Defenders of Wildlife, Gulf Restoration Network Inc. and Save the Manatee Club Inc. accuses BP of violating... more »

• BP: Company to drill in deeper water, assess risks

  October 19, 2010 12:38 PM

  A BP executive says the company and industry will be drilling in deeper waters and go farther in their search for oil reserves, and must understand the risks so they can mitigate them in the future. Mike Utsler, the chief of BP's restoration effort along the oil-stained Gulf Coast,... more »

• Judge eyes 2011 for first oil spill trial

  October 15, 2010 12:11 PM

  The first federal trial for claims filed against BP PLC by individuals and businesses affected by the massive Gulf Coast oil spill could be held next summer. The judge presiding over more than 300 lawsuits spawned by the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion said Friday that the first "test trial" for... more »

• Drilling ban to be lifted today

  October 12, 2010 11:26 AM

  The ban on offshore drilling, could be lifted by lunchtime. The Interior Department is set to discuss the ban at a mid-day news conference. Secretary Ken Salazar will "discuss the current suspensions on deepwater drilling," the Department said in a statement to media Tuesday morning. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs... more »

• Technician challenges BP's claims on key devices

  October 7, 2010 2:14 PM

  A technician is challenging BP's claim about how long it would have taken to install an additional number of a key device the oil giant had been warned was essential to prevent a significant gas flow problem in its well that later blew out. Centralizers make sure the casing is... more »

• White House says it didn't withhold oil spill info

  October 7, 2010 10:42 AM

  The White House is pushing back against accusations that the administration blocked government scientists from telling the public just how bad the BP oil spill could become. Press secretary Robert Gibbs says the White House never tried to withhold "the most accurate and timely information" on the amount of oil... more »

• Panel: Government held back oil spill worst-case scenario

  October 6, 2010 11:53 AM

  The White House blocked efforts by federal scientists to tell the public just how bad the Gulf oil spill could have been. That finding comes from a panel appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the worst offshore oil spill in history. In documents released Wednesday, the national oil spill... more »

• Government reopens more Gulf waters to fishing

  October 5, 2010 2:58 PM

  Another portion of the Gulf of Mexico has been reopened to commercial and recreational fishing after federal scientists found no oil contamination to bar consumption of seafood. The 2,927 square-mile area is located off eastern Louisiana, about 40 miles south of the BP well that spewed more than 200 million... more »

• Contractor: BP interfered with critical efforts

  October 4, 2010 1:54 PM

  An executive at a salvage firm says BP interfered with critical efforts to lower an undersea robot to try to close the device that failed to stop the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Doug Martin, president of Smit Salvage Americas, says the oil giant was concerned about heat... more »

• BP claims czar: Proximity has no role in payment

  October 4, 2010 10:02 AM

  The administrator of the fund doling out money to Gulf of Mexico oil spill victims says geographic proximity to oil-impacted areas will no longer play a role in whether people and businesses are compensated. Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is overseeing the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, has faced complaints from... more »

• Judge asked to postpone trial for Gulf spill cases

  October 2, 2010 10:06 AM

  Some of the companies sued over the massive Gulf oil spill are asking a federal judge to postpone a trial designed to assign percentages of fault in the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling project. A court filing Friday by Halliburton Energy Services, Cameron International and other companies says they need more... more »

• More of the Gulf reopened for fishing

  October 1, 2010 12:57 PM

  Another chunk of the Gulf of Mexico has been opened to fishing after seafood tests and surveys found no oil contamination threat. The 5,628-square-mile area is just west of the Mississippi River delta and about 75 miles south of the BP well that spewed millions of gallons of oil... more »

• Congressman: BP, feds in talks over oil spill fines

  September 28, 2010 1:22 PM

  A congressman says BP and the Obama administration are in talks about a possible settlement over fines for the company's massive Gulf oil spill. Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise told The Associated Press on Tuesday that members of his staff got information about the talks while working on oil... more »

• Many denied spill claims will get a second look

  September 28, 2010 12:53 PM

  The administrator of BP's $20 billion fund to compensate people harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill says some whose claims were denied will get paid after all. Kenneth Feinberg says the Gulf Coast Claims Facility expects many of the roughly 585 denied claims will become eligible for... more »

• Panel: Low-balling oil spill number akin to Custer

  September 27, 2010 1:19 PM

  The head of a White House-appointed panel examining the BP oil spill compared the federal government's underestimate of the spill's size to Gen. George Custer's fatal lowballing the number of Indians at Little Big Horn. The two co-chairmen of the national oil spill commission on Monday said early government... more »