The first tropical storm of the season has veered away from the Gulf oil spill, allowing engineers to continue siphoning oil and gas from the leaking Macondo well.

BP reports that approximately 22,750 barrels of oil were collected or flared on Saturday.

BP also is making preparations for the installation of a floating riser containment system. The company says the system will be connected to the Helix Producer vessel and will be able to handle 20,000-25,000 barrels of oil per day, raising the daily oil and gas containment capacity to 40,000-50,000 barrels by late June or early July.

The first relief well is making steady progress toward intercepting the wellbore of the Macondo well. It has reached a depth of 16,546 feet and is using high-tech equipment to precisely locate the wellbore. Th... more »

Vanity Fair is known for publishing provocative articles, and this week's Web edition is no exception.

In an article titled, "A Colossal Fracking Mess," the magazine follows in the footsteps of other journalists and documentary producers by providing an unbalanced and sensationalized account of hydraulic fracturing.

As we've discussed on this blog, hydraulic fracturing is the tried-and-true oil and natural gas-field practice. It forces water, sand and trace amounts of chemicals into the wellbore under high pressure to create fissures allowing the energy resources to flow up to the surface.

When fracking, as it's called, is combined with horizontal drilling, it can unlock natural gas and oil from hard rock formations. Thanks to the use of fracking in U.S. shale formations, energy analysts s... more »

BP reinstalled the cap on the blowout preventer (BOP) at the leaking Macondo well last evening, and it began capturing oil and gas a short time later. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says the amount of oil being collected could rise to about 53,000 barrels a day after a third containment device arrives next Tuesday.

Along the Gulf Coast shoreline, responders continue to mop up the drifting oil as the debate continues over deepwater drilling and coastal protection:

• The Wall Street Journal reports today that BP and other major oil companies based their spill response plans on U.S. government projections that provided low odds of oil reaching shore. The projections are based on government models that the companies are required to use. The models assume that most of the oil from a large spill--ev... more »

Safety concerns have prompted engineers to remove the cap from the leaking well's blowout preventer (BOP) in the Gulf.

Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen reported today that workers aboard the drillship Discoverer Enterprise noticed gas bubbling up a line used to pump hot water to the cap to prevent the formation of methane hydrates. The cap and the riser were disengaged, according to a published report.

An initial inspection of the cap revealed that a cap vent had been closed, perhaps after it was bumped by an ROV. The cap is being examined to determine whether it has become clogged with hydrates, and it's hoped that the cap can be redeployed. In the meantime, BP reports that oil and gas are continuing to be collected through the manifold on the seabed and are being funneled to the Q4000 for fla... more »

Reaction to Judge Feldman's ruling against the deepwater drilling moratorium came swiftly yesterday. Environmental groups and many Democrats attacked the decision, while Republicans in general supported it and called it encouraging.

But no one predicted that it would put energy workers back to work immediately.

"This is certainly not going to put the drilling rigs back drilling," Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, told the Times-Picayune. "The practical reality of this decision is that it really doesn't change anything from an operational standpoint in the Gulf of Mexico."

The fact is there is too much uncertainty for oil companies and rig owners to commit to U.S. deepwater drilling now. The White House has announced it will file an appeal to the Fi... more »