The New York Times reports today that BP is making headway in solving the problems that are allowing oil from the Macondo well to spill into the Gulf.

After a briefing at BP's command center in Houston, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, "Things are looking up." He added, "I'm feeling more comfortable than I was a week ago."

Similarly, in his daily email message, LCDR J.R. Hoeft of the Unified Area Command reported today that a gamma-ray sensor provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has scanned the blowout preventer (BOP) and has confirmed that some of the valves did close. These valves are restricting the flow of the oil and could make it easier to stop the leak.

With this information in hand, BP is preparing to use several intervention options:

• The top hat - The two-ton contain... more »

A number of prominent voices in the energy debate are discussing the need for continued safe, environmentally responsible offshore oil and natural gas development. EIA estimates demonstrate that the United States will consume 14 percent more energy in 25 years, including alternatives, renewables and oil and natural gas.

A USA TODAY editorial from yesterday explains that limiting or banning offshore drilling would deny our nation access to 40 to 60 billion barrels of recoverable oil--about six to eight years of current U.S. consumption.

With about one-third of U.S. oil production coming from the Gulf, the editorial makes the point that we need oil, but we also need to find out what went wrong in the Deepwater Horizon tragedy and apply the lessons learned. We couldn't agree more.

A Maritime... more »

We've received several telephone calls from reporters who are wondering who pays for oil spill cleanup activities. With regard to the Deepwater Horizon spill, BP has assumed responsibility for the cleanup.

As BP America President and Chairman Lamar McKay told a Senate panel yesterday, "No resource available to this company will be spared." He added, "Our obligation is to deal with the spill, clean it up and make sure the impacts of that spill are compensated, and we're going to do that."

There also is a federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which amounts to an insurance policy supported and funded by the oil industry to make sure there are adequate resources to pay for oil spill damages.

But before any money from the trust fund can be used, the responsible company must pay ALL of the r... more »

Editor's Note: In a statement issued today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard cited the need for a thorough assessment of the Kerry-Lieberman draft climate proposal released today. The full text of Jack's comments appears below:

"This broad proposal reflects the complex relationship between the U.S. energy system and greenhouse gas emissions which come from every car, home, factory and farm in America. We are reviewing the released text to assess the proposal's possible impact on jobs, energy production, and consumers of oil and natural gas. However, until full legislative language has been thoroughly analyzed, any assessment would be guess work at best.

We need reliable data and estimates on how the draft legislation would affect energy production, energy prices, consumers' budgets and t... more »

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill response has become so massive, and the activities aimed at pinpointing a cause have become so numerous, it's becoming increasingly difficult to mention everything in a single blog post.

Just imagine the enormity of the response on the water's surface where there is a huge fleet of vessels of all sizes; more than one million feet of boom; thousands of volunteers, many of whom are experts in wildlife and spill mitigation; members of the Coast Guard, National Guard and Navy; scientists, engineers, oil drilling personnel, and communicators--all of whom are doing their best to stop the oil, prevent environmental impacts, collect information and disseminate it to the public.

Below the surface, ROVs are gliding through the cold, dark water in extreme pressures to per... more »