Bloggers are watching the oil spill response closely, and a few have offered their thoughts about the importance of oil and natural gas to the American way of life.

Merv Benson at Prairie Pundit commented:

"BP is certainly putting the resources behind the effort to staunch the flow of oil from the blowout. It is important not noly (sic) to stop this flow, but to prove that these deep wells can be safely managed when problems strike. The potential from these wells is much too important to not fix this problem as promptly as possible."

Gail the Actuary at The Oil Drum mentioned that the Deepwater Horizon accident could prompt government officials to propose new rules for offshore drilling, which could lead to unintended consequences.

"It is easy to say that there should be more rules for... more »

Nearly 70 U.S. oil and natural gas workers are on Capitol Hill this week to talk with policymakers about energy.

They include geologists, petroleum engineers, landmen, rig workers and others from 15 states, who are meeting with their elected representatives to explain how a strong oil and natural gas industry can contribute to the U.S. economy and create jobs.

Carlos Dengo of ExxonMobil says the trip to the nation's capital is an "opportunity to bring our story to Washington. It's about who we are in the oil and natural gas industry, what we do and how we do it."

Dengo, who serves as vice president of geosciences for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, explains that the industry uses advanced technology to provide energy to all Americans. As one example, he points to the impact of techn... more »

The Huffington Post published an article today that alleges Big Oil tried to stop the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) from promulgating new offshore safety rules before the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig accident.

It's not true. Here are the facts.

API supports the implementation of an effective safety and environmental management system. But we were concerned the proposed MMS regulations would run counter to the stated goal of improving safety practices.

The MMS proposed incorporating portions of a long-standing API recommended practice (API RP 75: Development of a Safety and Environmental Management Program for Offshore Operations and Facilities, Third Edition, 2004, reaffirmed 2008) into the new regulations while rewriting other portions.

API and the Offshore Operators Committee... more »

To use the word "Herculean" to describe the efforts underway to respond to the Gulf oil spill would be an understatement. Here are some of the actions being conducted both on the water's surface and one mile down at the seafloor.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported this morning that more than 29,280 feet of boom (barrier) has been assigned to contain the spill. An additional 80,900 feet is available and 36,100 feet has been ordered.

To date, the oil spill response team has recovered 1,152 barrels (43,384 gallons) of an oil-water mix. Vessels are in place and continuing recovery operations.

By this morning, 49 response vessels were actively working on the spill, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels. Also, 29,140 gallons of dispersant had been sprayed to break up the oil and an... more »

The U.S. Coast Guard is expected to hold another news conference at 4:00 East Coast time today about the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.

In the meantime, Americans all over the country are monitoring the efforts to stop the flow of oil. At last report, about 1,000 barrels of oil per day continued to leak from the bent drill pipe, and responders were planning to use remote-controlled robots to turn valves in the blowout preventer to shut the well.

Despite the blaze and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, President Obama said last week that he has no plans to reconsider his plans for expanded offshore drilling.

According to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, the president remains convinced that the nation needs more domestic drilling. "We need the increased production," Gibbs said. "The president... more »