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• Dangerous gas encountered at sinkhole vent well

  November 20, 2012 6:01 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - Workers setting up a vent well near an Assumption Parish sinkhole encountered a dangerous gas and shut down operations, according to the parish police jury. They said the workers drilled the well into the top of a salt dome near the sinkhole, and began venting it... more »

• St. Landry waterline extension work begins

  November 20, 2012 3:18 PM

  KROTZ SPRINGS - Construction is under way on a $1 million project to extend waterlines from the Krotz Springs municipal system to serve an area along La. Highway 105 dotted by residential water wells that have shown high levels of arsenic. The Advocate reports the project has been driven mainly... more »

• Parish to hold sinkhole update tonight Play Video

  September 25, 2012 1:52 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - Parish authorities scheduled a briefing tonight to update people in the Bayou Corne community about recent developments concerning a large sinkhole which prompted an evacuation. The meeting is tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the unified command post at the Sportsman's Landing in Bayou Corne. Last... more »

• Exploratory well into sinkhole almost complete

  September 20, 2012 8:43 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Officials say they are one step closer to figuring out the cause behind the massive sinkhole that has been plaguing Assumption Parish for over a month. State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh said Wednesday that Texas Brine Co., the company that owns the brine cavern believed... more »

• Drilling equipment on its way to Bayou Corne

  August 15, 2012 10:04 AM

  BAYOU CORNE - Ten trucks hauling parts of a exploratory well are making their way to Bayou Corne, and could impact some traffic in our area. State Police said the trucks are coming from Scott, La., and will take several routes, including I-10. They will travel east on... more »

• Texas Brine promises cooperation over sinkhole Play Video

  August 10, 2012 5:56 PM

  GONZALES - Representatives from Texas Brine said today the company is doing everything it can to ease concerns about a sinkhole on their property in Assumption Parish. Experts believe an unused brine operation in a salt dome beneath the sinkhole is the cause. Parish leaders said the company had... more »

• State orders Texas Brine to drill well Play Video

  August 9, 2012 5:10 PM

  BATON ROUGE - This afternoon state officials ordered Texas Brine Company to drill a well to a salt cavern in Assumption Parish as part of their efforts to see what caused a sinkhole and bubbles in the bayou. The Department of Natural Resources said Commissioner of Conservation Jim Welsh... more »

• Va. inventor claims design for BP well cap stolen

  June 20, 2012 5:27 PM

  ATLANTA - An inventor claims his design was the basis for the cap used to choke off the flow of oil to the Gulf of Mexico nearly three months after BP's undersea well blew in 2010. And he says it was stolen. Charles Adams of Radford, Va., filed a federal... more »

• Salazar set to approve major gas well project

  May 8, 2012 9:47 AM

  SALT LAKE CITY- U. S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was set to approve a major natural gas drilling project in Utah. Salazar planned to make the announcement Tuesday at a pipeline compression station on Salt Lake City's west side. He offered no details before the event got under way.... more »

• Exxon makes new oil discovery in Gulf of Mexico

  June 8, 2011 3:29 PM

  NEW YORK - Exxon Mobil Corp. said Wednesday it is the first company to discover oil from a new deep-water well in the Gulf of Mexico since last year's massive oil spill. The oil giant said its exploration project 250 miles southwest of New Orleans hit oil and gas... more »

• Worker dies after fall on abandoned gas platform

  April 18, 2011 5:20 PM

  LAKE CHARLES - A worker sealing off an abandoned natural gas well in the Gulf died this morning after a fall, according to authorities. A spokesperson with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said the worker with Alliance Oilfield Services died when he fell through a... more »

• Lafayette man identified as well accident victim

  April 2, 2011 3:51 PM

  MAURICE, La.- A worker killed in an accident at a natural gas well near Maurice has been identified as a 52-year-old Lafayette man. The Lafayette Parish sheriff says Clarence Leleaux died when a pipeline ruptured on Thursday. A second worker was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.... more »

• Shell moves closer on new drilling plans for Gulf

  March 21, 2011 4:09 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Federal regulators have put oil giant Shell one step closer to final approval to drill three new exploratory deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the project 130 miles off the Louisiana coast meets strict safety and environmental requirements. Shell... more »

• Well blowout plugged, road reopened

  March 10, 2011 2:17 PM

  GOLDEN MEADOW, La. - State police say a stretch of state highway in Golden Meadow is back open, after an oil well blew wild Thursday morning. The well was brought under control quickly and plugged by midday. No explosions, fires or injuries were reported. There were no... more »

• U.S. approves first deepwater well in Gulf

  February 28, 2011 3:15 PM

  NEW YORK- The U.S. has approved the first deep-water drilling permit in the Gulf of Mexico since last year's massive oil spill. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement says the permit is to continue work on a well about 70 miles southeast of Venice, La. ... more »

• Supporters send well-wishes to Edwards

  January 28, 2011 4:21 PM

  BATON ROUGE - The phone calls and incoming mail have picked up at Ecumenical House in the two weeks since the federal halfway house added a famous prisoner to its watch list: former Gov. Edwin Edwards. Though Edwards was allowed to serve the final six months of his prison term... more »

• BP official: Effort to shut Gulf well was 'late'

  December 8, 2010 9:16 AM

  HOUSTON - A BP vice president has told a federal investigative panel that workers on the doomed Gulf of Mexico oil rig were distracted by multiple activities going on simultaneously and didn't try to shut the well until 49 minutes after gas particles began flowing in. Steve Robinson, who led... more »

• BP says government estimate of oil flow too large

  December 3, 2010 10:11 AM

  WASHINGTON - BP is mounting a new challenge to U.S. government estimates of how much oil flowed from the runaway well deep below the Gulf of Mexico. The issue will be critical in determining the size of federal pollution fines the company will pay. Staff working for the presidential oil... 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 »

• Damage still being assessed in Assumption well blowout

  October 15, 2010 12:08 PM

  State workers are still assessing damage and disposing of fouled sugar cane two months after a well blowout in an Assumption Parish sugar cane field. Meanwhile, according to The Courier newspaper in Houma, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of dozens of residents living near the blown-out well is pending against... more »

• Blown-out BP well finally killed at bottom of Gulf

  September 19, 2010 11:27 AM

  The well is dead - finally. A permanent cement plug sealed BP's well nearly 2.5 miles below the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico, five agonizing months after an explosion sank a drilling rig and led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Retired Coast Guard Adm.... more »

• Test will tell if BP oil well can be declared dead

  September 19, 2010 9:26 AM

  Depending on the results of an overnight pressure test, government officials were expected to announce Sunday that the blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico was dead, five months after an explosion killed 11 workers, sank a drilling rig and led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S.... more »

• Cement flows for permanent plug of BP's Gulf well

  September 18, 2010 9:47 AM

  Crews are pumping cement into BP's blown-out oil well thousands of feet below the sea bottom, working to permanently seal the runaway well. Engineers initially had planned to pump in mud before the cement, but a BP spokesman said that would not be necessary. There was no pressure building inside... more »

• Cement starts flowing to plug BP well for good

  September 17, 2010 2:35 PM

  Oil giant BP says crews have begun pumping cement to permanently seal the company's blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. A spokesman said Friday there no longer is a need to use mud in tandem with the cement because pressure from the well isn't an issue. BP expects the... more »

• Blown Gulf well could be capped by Sunday

  September 15, 2010 12:53 PM

  The U.S. government's point man on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill said Wednesday that BP's blown-out well is expected to be permanently sealed and declared dead by Sunday, nearly five months after a rig explosion set off the disaster. National Incident Commander Thad Allen told reporters gathered at a... more »

• Oil company speaks out about well, cleanup

  September 1, 2010 7:14 PM

  In an exclusive interview with News 2, Mantle Oil and Gas Company estimates it will take three to six months to clean up an oil and salt water mix left behind after a Paincourtville well blew out in August. What's in question is how the company will do that.... more »

• Assumption well blowout progress, roads reopen

  August 30, 2010 11:10 AM

  Clean up near the blown-out well site, in Assumption Parish is expected to take another six months. DEQ plans to continue monitoring clean up operations and make sure freshwater stays out of the contaminated area. Meanwhile, work continues around the relief well. Parts of Highway 70 has... more »

• Wild well in Assumption is capped

  August 28, 2010 4:20 PM

  Contractors have capped a wild well that spewed oil and gas for more than two weeks in Assumption Parish. The well stopped blowing on its own Tuesday, and work crews were able to replace a blowout preventer that fell off shortly after it blew early Aug. 11. Officials told residents... more »

• Gulf well temporary cap to be removed Monday

  August 27, 2010 11:32 AM

  The federal government says it will start work Monday to remove the temporary cap keeping oil from gushing out of BP's blown-out Gulf well so that it can raise a key piece of equipment from the seabed. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the spill... more »

• Workers attempting to stop oil leak in Assumption Parish

  August 22, 2010 6:08 PM

  Relief is in sight for folks in the Paincourtville area with concerns about a spewing well near sugar cane fields in Assumption Parish. Today workers began drilling a relief well just feet away from the spewing well site. "The relief well has now what they call, sputted in, and... more »

• No timeline for completing Gulf relief well

  August 18, 2010 1:42 PM

  Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says they are no longer giving a timeline for completing the final stages of pluggling BP's broken well for good. Allen says BP still needs to come up with a plan to alleviate pressure that may build up once the relief well intersects... more »

• 14 seek treatment because of La. blowout

  August 17, 2010 8:55 AM

  State health officials say at least 14 people have seen a doctor for minor health issues because of a well spewing oil, gas, brine and other material in Paincourtville. A state Department of Health and Hospitals spokeswoman says the symptoms included irritated eyes and throat, nausea and dizziness. more »

• Questions raised in Assumption Parish well operation

  August 16, 2010 10:21 PM

  New questions are being raised about a well blow-out operation in Paincourtville, even from those involved. When it became apparent Monday morning that a fix isn't close, authorities started asking questions, but still don't have some key details, including how much is spewing from the well. "There's never been... more »

• Road expected to be closed for days

  August 11, 2010 8:54 AM

  Both lanes on Highway 70 in Assumption Parish will be closed for several days between Highway 996 and Highway 1 due to an oil well blowout. It happened between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Wednesday morning near Paincourtville. Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack says there are no evacuations. more »

• Road closure in Assumption Parish

  August 11, 2010 6:19 AM

  Louisiana State Police Troop C has confirmed that Highway 70 in Assumption Parish is closed. The closure is between Hwy 996 and Hwy 1 due to an oil well blowout. It happened between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Wednesday morning. Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack says there are no evacuations... more »

• BP resumes drilling Gulf relief well as final plug

  August 9, 2010 8:44 AM

  The government's point man on the Gulf oil spill says BP has resumed drilling a relief well meant to intersect the blown-out well and seal it for good. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said Monday that cement forced down from the top of the crippled well last week has... more »

• Cement on well hardened

  August 8, 2010 1:17 PM

  BP says the cement sealing the busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has hardened as crews prepare for the final phase of drilling a relief well. The oil giant said Sunday that pressure tests on the cement plug poured down the throat of the blown-out well show the... more »

• BP starts using cement to finish up 'static kill'

  August 5, 2010 9:33 AM

  BP says it has started to pump cement down the throat of the blown-out Gulf of Mexico well in hopes of sealing it for good. The company said Thursday it started to shove cement down the well at 9:15 Central time from pipes attached to ships a mile above. Crews... more »

• Obama administration says nearly 75 percent of oil gone

  August 4, 2010 5:52 PM

  According to estimates given by the Obama Administration, nearly 75 percent of the oil in the Gulf is gone. Most of the oil accounted for includes crude collected at the spill site, which was burned, skimmed and dispersed, as well as other oil that evaporated. However, LSU Professor Dr.... more »

• BP: Mud pumped into well is holding back the oil

  August 4, 2010 6:57 AM

  Energy giant BP says the mud it pumped down the throat of a busted oil well in the Gulf appears to be holding back the flow of crude. Workers stopped pumping mud in after about eight hours and BP says they've reached a new milestone in killing off the... more »

• Oil leak from well in Jefferson Parish capped

  August 2, 2010 6:17 AM

  The Coast Guard says a leak from an abandoned oil well on Bayou St. Denis in southern Jefferson Parish has been capped. Capt. John Arenstam says the leak was capped shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday. A barge struck the long abandoned well on July 27. Oil skimming and recovery operations... more »

• New BP chief: Priority is plugging well for good

  July 27, 2010 6:52 AM

  The newly named CEO of BP says his top priority is sealing its blown oil well for good and cleaning and restoring the Gulf of Mexico. Bob Dudley said on ABC's "Good Morning America" he does not expect any more oil to gush into the Gulf as BP works to... more »

• PA Gas Well Explosion

  July 23, 2010 11:18 AM

  A natural gas well has exploded and killed two people, in western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The blast happened around 10 a.m.in a remote area of Indiana Township, about 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Reports say the well is still burning at this hour. The PA Public Utility... more »

• Oil spill work on hold as TS Bonnie approaches

  July 23, 2010 4:53 AM

  Work to permanently cap the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is at a standstill after ships were ordered to evacuate because of Tropical Storm Bonnie. There had been worries that the cap that has mostly contained the oil would have to be reopened and left gushing if... more »

• Ships ready to leave leaky well as storm brews

  July 22, 2010 6:10 AM

  Crew members aboard dozens of ships in the Gulf of Mexico are preparing to evacuate as a tropical rainstorm brewing in the Caribbean brings the deep-sea effort to plug BP's ruptured oil well to a near standstill. Though the rough weather is hundreds of miles from the spill site and... more »

• Feds let BP keep oil cap closed for another day

  July 19, 2010 6:24 AM

  Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says he's authorized BP to keep the cap on its busted well for another 24 hours after the company pledged to closely monitor the seafloor for signs of a new leak. Allen says a federal science team held a conference call with BP representatives Sunday... more »

• BP: No signs of underground leak

  July 16, 2010 7:45 AM

  BP says it is encouraged by early results from the latest cap on the Gulf well. At this time there is no sign of an underground leak. Over the next two days, BP will take regular pressure readings. A drop might indicate that oil is leaking somewhere else, such as... more »

• BP reports progress on oil cap

  July 12, 2010 5:20 AM

  BP underwater robots are assembling heavy metal pieces in what could be the most progress toward containing the gushing Gulf of Mexico oil well. The oil giant says it's ahead of schedule, but residents along the Gulf are skeptical. Robotic submarines worked to bolt down a pipe-like connector called a... more »

• More than 27,000 abandoned wells lurk in Gulf of Mexico

  July 7, 2010 10:30 AM

  More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells sit in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, and no one is checking to see if they are leaking, according to an Associated Press investigation. The oldest of the wells was abandoned in the 1940s, which raises concerns that some... more »

• Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns

  June 18, 2010 7:13 AM

  The crude gushing from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. John Kessler is a Texas A&M University oceanographer. He says the oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane - compared... more »

• Gulf oil leak video could haunt Obama

  June 18, 2010 6:29 AM

  It's nearly impossible to avoid the live video of the coal-gray oil gushing from BP's well a mile below the Gulf of Mexico's surface and a poll shows most Americans have seen it. Now, some are wondering if the Gulf oil leak cam could engulf President Barack Obama? The video... more »

• BP exec says cap is collecting some oil in Gulf

  June 4, 2010 6:34 AM

  BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles says a cap that's been placed atop a blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has been collecting some oil but he doesn't know how much. Suttles says oil has started flowing up the pipe from the cap. It will be later in... more »

• Effort to contain Gulf oil stalls with stuck saw

  June 2, 2010 9:00 AM

  Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen is saying that a saw has become stuck as it was cutting through a pipe on a busted well, stalling the latest attempt to contain the Gulf oil gusher. Allen said Wednesday the goal is to free the saw and finish the cut later in... more »

• BP: Equipment in place for Gulf 'top kill' try

  May 25, 2010 9:11 AM

  BP engineers say they have the equipment in place to try a complicated procedure that they hope will seal the blown-out Gulf of Mexico oil well. BP says they hope to launch the "top kill" on Wednesday and will soon start 12 hours of tests to prepare for the maneuver.... more »

• BP may cap well with dome if "Top Kill" fails

  May 24, 2010 2:32 PM

  BP officials say that if their attempt to plug the leaking Gulf of Mexico well by injecting it with heavy drilling mud fails, they will likely try to cap it with a small containment dome. They are hoping to launch the massive "top kill" maneuver Wednesday. BP officials... more »

• Bad cement jobs plague offshore rigs

  May 24, 2010 5:51 AM

  An Associated Press investigation has found government reports about dozens of offshore oil wells where cementing failed, as it may have on the Deepwater Horizon. The federal accident and incident reports implicates cementing at least 34 times since 1978. Many of the reports identify the cause simply as "poor cement... more »

• BP to permanently cap leaking Gulf oil well

  May 17, 2010 2:53 PM

  BP says it is not try to produce oil through a blown-out well that's been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico ever again. Officials say the right thing to do is just plug the well for good. However, BP officials did not rule out drilling elsewhere to tap the... more »

• Drilling begins on 2nd relief well near Gulf leak

  May 17, 2010 2:41 PM

  BP have started drilling a second relief well where the oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. BP continues to siphon some of the oil gushing into the Gulf, but officials say relief wells are a more permanent solution. It will be months before they're complete. ... more »

• BP: Tube getting over one-fifth of gushing oil

  May 17, 2010 6:39 AM

  BP says a mile-long tube has been collecting more than one-fifth of the oil that's spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from a blown-out well. Chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the tube has been siphoning more than 42,000 gallons a day BP has estimated about 210,000 gallons a day,... more »

• So far, few oiled birds, no turtles, brought in

  May 7, 2010 5:27 AM

  When you're getting ready to rescue sea turtles from an oil spill, the shopping list includes 50 wading pools. Michele Kelley, Louisiana state marine mammal and sea turtle stranding coordinator, says they've probably ruined every child's summer in New Orleans because they bought all the kidding pools. But so far,... more »

• Preparing for possible ill effects from oil spill

  May 7, 2010 5:16 AM

  There are a variety of hazards to human health if and when the full brunt of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill washes ashore. The list of potential threats runs from temporary, minor nuisances such as runny noses and headaches to long-term risks such as cancer if contaminated seafood ends... more »

• Giant box close to being over oil-spewing well

  May 7, 2010 5:10 AM

  A 100-ton containment box is close to being in place over a blown-out well that's been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The first mate of the supply boat that brought the box to the site, confirmed a radio transmission from the nearby vessel lowering the device that said... more »

• BP: One leak capped

  May 5, 2010 7:45 AM

  Coast Guard says BP has capped 1 of 3 leaks, but it won't reduce oil flow from Gulf well. The Coast Guard says the work should reduce the number of leak points that need to be fixed on the ocean floor. BP officials have said that fewer leaks will make... more »

• Gas found in Caddo water wells

  April 20, 2010 7:45 AM

  About 100 homes in southern Caddo Parish have been evacuated as a precaution after natural gas was detected in drinking water wells. Crews were drilling for natural gas in the area. DEQ says natural gas leaked into the Wilcox Aquifer and that 35 of 45 private water wells it sampled... more »

• Precautionary evac in southern Caddo Parish

  April 19, 2010 9:39 AM

  A precautionary evacuation was ordered in southern Caddo Parish near a natural gas well. Caddo Parish deputies asked residents living near the well to evacuate to a nearby fire station as a precaution while crews prepare to release pressure in the well to prevent it from blowing. more »

• Court dismisses Ringgold woman's natural gas suit

  February 9, 2010 8:20 AM

  A state judge in Farmerville has dismissed a Ringgold woman's lawsuit over payment for natural gas from her wells. Monroe attorney and Drum Energy owner Thomas Grant paid Virginia Cobb $39,000 after she won a lawsuit in 2007, over natural gas from her wells from January 1997 to November 2007.... more »

• St. Helena water issues

  January 11, 2010 5:05 PM

  The good news: well sites in St. Helena Parish are holding up to the extreme weather conditions over the past few days. The bad news: water consumption is causing some areas to remain without water. The biggest problems are in the Darlington area between Clinton and Greensburg. A well... more »

• Boil order lifted in Independence

  December 2, 2009 11:25 AM

  A boil order was lifted for the town of Independence in Tangipahoa Parish. It was put in place Tuesday after an old water well broke down. The boil order forced schools and businesses to shut down and it impacted operations at the Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center. Emergency... more »

• Slaughter gets new water system

  September 28, 2009 9:49 AM

  The town of Slaughter is in debt after recently spending $1 million on a new well water system to provide clean water for the town. According to Mayor Bobbie Bourgeois, the old system was very old and outdated. "Having to replace the water system left a huge burden... more »