After several weeks of intense study into the Deepwater Horizon accident, two industry task forces released their recommendations today.

These task forces, which have focused on subsea well design and oil spill response, are two of the four task forces formed by the oil and natural gas industry to examine deepwater drilling, identify any gaps that might exist affecting safety, seek solutions, and improve industry operations. The two other task forces delivered their reports to the government in May.

Today the Subsea task force announced 29 recommendations, including 15 immediate action items, that could be helpful in controlling the release of oil from its source. Many of the action items involved equipment changes and a new Containment Company (CC) formed to build and deploy a rapid respo... 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 »

The New York Times reports another ship is being sent to the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well to process oil and gas captured by the containment cap and brought safely to the surface.

The containment cap's early results are encouraging. BP says the cap collected 10,500 barrels of oil Saturday, up from 6,000 barrels on Friday. The oil and gas are being funneled through a new riser to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise, which is preventing much of the oil from spilling into the Gulf.

The company hopes to collect more oil and gas as it closes the cap's vents, which are designed to prevent the buildup of the slush-like gas hydrates that clogged the cofferdam containment system. "Closing those vents should minimize the amount of oil that will leak out," a BP spokesman said during the weekend.... more »

BP and a team of engineers have lowered the containment cap on the blowout preventer.

Doug Suttles, BP chief operating officer, says the next step is to close the vents at the top of the cap, which should greatly reduce the amount of oil and gas escaping from the well. If the procedure is successful, the vast majority of the oil and gas will travel from the cap up through a new riser to a drill ship for processing.

Click on the image above for an animation that explains the entire process.