API executive vice president Marty Durbin had a good op/ed in the Houston Chronicle over the weekend. After looking at the oil industry's significant safety enhances since the tragic Macondo well accident last spring, Durbin looks forward:

"...The moratorium on deep-water drilling technically ended last October. Yet not a single deep-water drilling permit has been issued since. Some deep-water rigs are leaving the Gulf. We've been told by the Interior Department that permitting may never get back to the levels before the accident. We've also learned that 2011 may see no new offshore leasing, and the department is scaling back its next five-year offshore leasing plan.

Thousands of jobs have disappeared already. Revenue and energy production will be increasingly affected. The Energy Depar... more »

The presidential commission examining the Deepwater Horizon accident has determined that several missteps contributed last April's blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, including poor decision-making by the companies' management and government regulators. According to an excerpt from its report, the commission found the tragedy "was not the product of a series of abberational decisions made by a rogue industry...the root causes are systemic" and should be corrected.

Among the failures highlighted in the document are gaps in communications between the rig workers on the Deepwater Horizon and within their companies, a lack of effective oversight by government regulators, and the failure of managers to understand the consequences of their decisions.

The commission identified nine decisions that incr... more »

The U.S. Justice Department filed suit against BP and eight other companies yesterday to recover billions of dollars from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. The administration's suit asks that the companies be held responsible for all cleanup costs and damage to natural resources.

Additional defendants could be added to the suit. "This is an ongoing process," Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference.

Workers clear the beach of Bon Secour Nat'l Wildlife Refuge, Nov. 23, 2010

Image Source: BP

The suit acknowledges, however, that the full extent of damage isn't known. The government estimates that more than 200 million gallons of oil escaped from the well; but BP says the amount could be far less. The oil estimates are a key factor in determining penalties under the Clean Water Act... more »

The lead investigator for the presidential panel examining the Deepwater Horizon accident yesterday said he has found no evidence that anyone involved in the Macondo well took shortcuts to save money.

Fred H. Bartlit Jr. told the commission, "To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety." His findings disputed the claims of members of Congress and other investigators who have accused BP, Transocean and Halliburton of cutting corners. The Macondo well blowout killed 11 workers and resulted in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

After hearing Bartlit's preliminary findings into the causes of the accident, Commission co-chairman William Reilly told... more »

The Macondo well that released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has been killed.

The well, which had been shut-in since July 15, was intercepted by a relief well on September 15. Two days later, cement was pumped into the well's annulus forming a plug. After tests confirmed the strength of the plug yesterday, Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen pronounced the well "effectively dead."

BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay issued statement calling the kill "a significant technological accomplishment." He added, "BP will continue sharing what we have learned in an effort to prevent a tragedy like this from every being repeated."

Killing the well is not the end of the Deepwater Horizon saga. Numerous challenges remain along the Gulf Co... more »