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 »

With the success of the static kill, another important step has been taken toward recovery from the worst marine oil spill in American history. It's estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil, plus or minus 10 percent, poured into the Gulf of Mexico.

Fortunately, about three-quarters of the oil has evaporated, been skimmed, burned, recovered from the wellhead or dispersed, which is helping to degrade it. According to a report issued this morning by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), only about 26 percent of the oil remains in the water or onshore.

The report also points out that the oil in the water is mostly a light sheen on the surface or dispersed below the surface. The Deepwater Horizon Unified Command says, "Early indications are that the oil... more »

The apparent success of BP's cap on the Deepwater Horizon well is an important accomplishment, and we welcome news that the oil spill has been stopped.

We applaud the dedicated men and women who have worked tirelessly over the past 85 days, even as BP continues to work on a relief well, which will permanently cap the leak.

The oil and natural gas industry remains committed to safe and environmentally responsible operations, and we will continue to support BP and the crews who are working to clean up the oil in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Gulf Coast.

We hope the administration can move forward quickly to resume deepwater offshore drilling activity, which would bolster economic development and reduce unemployment in the already hard-hit Gulf Coast communities.

For the first time in more than two months, the Macondo well is not leaking oil and gas into the Gulf.

The well has been shut in temporarily as part of the well integrity test. According to reports, engineers will huddle around 8:00 p.m. this evening to discuss whether the new cap, which was lowered on to the blowout preventer earlier this week, will effectively stop the flow over a period of time.

Kent Wells of BP is sending out updates on the well testing via Twitter. You can follow his announcements here.

Under the testing process, engineers planned to slowly close the cap, called a three ram capping stack, and to monitor the pressure in the well. A pressure of 6,000 pounds-per-square-inch (psi) or higher would signal that the well below the seabed had not been damaged. A lower pressure... more »

Using painstaking care, BP engineers are conducting tests that could determine whether a new cap can stop the flow of oil from the leaking Macondo well.

The new cap, called a 3 ram capping stack, contains three valves that can close and effectively stop the flow of oil. But before the device can be fully deployed, engineers say they must check in the integrity of the well.

In a process that could take a few hours or a couple of days, BP will slowly reduce the flow of oil and natural gas and monitor the pressure buildup inside the well. "Higher pressures are good news," said Doug Suttles, BP's chief operating officer. Low pressures could mean that the well is damaged below the seafloor, making the cap ineffective.

"Everybody hope and pray that we see high pressures here,... more »