British Petroleum's (BP) Gulf of Mexico oil spill threat for The Bahamas is 'not over'

Oil threat for Bahamas 'not over'
By ALISON LOWE
Tribune Staff Reporter
alowe@tribunemedia.net:



A lead co-ordinator in the government's Gulf oil spill response team says that despite British Petroleum's success in stopping the oil gushing from the damaged well "the threat is not over" as far as the Bahamas is concerned.

Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, Captain Stephen Russell, who heads the National Oil Spill Contingency Committee, said the group has submitted a plan to continue monitoring any potential impact from the oil spill until the end of the year, at the earliest.

"We haven't slackened, we are keeping our eye on it," said Mr Russell yesterday morning. He noted that a team of experts set off on a second exploratory mission from Nassau to the Cay Sal Bank in the Bahama Banks on Monday, to continue taking samples and checking for any tar balls in Bahamian waters.

The team of scientists and environmentalists was scheduled to arrive in Cay Sal yesterday afternoon to begin their investigations.

Their visit comes just under a week after BP announced that after 85 days and the release of up to 184 million gallons of oil into the marine environment, it had successfully capped the leaking well, stopping the flow of crude.

Officials were cautious in their response to the news last Thursday that the placement of a 75-ton cap had successfully halted the flow of oil. US president Barack Obama called the development a "positive sign" but added, "We're still in the testing phase."

In the last few days some oil and gas has been detected around the well, raising concerns that the cap may not be withstanding the pressure from the oil within the well.

Hope

However, officials have expressed hope that the cap can largely contain the oil until relief wells are drilled which are expected to provide a permanent fix.

So far, no evidence of oil having reached Bahamian waters has been found. The spill has been accumulating in the Gulf of Mexico and along the southern coast of the United States since April 22, after the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig following an explosion at the site.

The oil rig was leased to British energy company BP at the time of the incident and the company has promised to pay legitimate claims for compensation stemming from the extensive damage that is resulting from the oil being released into the environment.

Mr Russell told The Tribune that officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General's Office continue to pursue the possibility of seeking compensation from the company for the Bahamas to cover the cost of efforts already undertaken by the government's Oil Spill Contingency Committee in response to the spill.

"It has been discussed at two levels locally, and at the CARICOM level, so we will see. We'll allow Foreign Affairs and the AG's office to see how we can engage BP either through the British Foreign Office or the US office. Likewise, we'll see CARICOM's approach," said Capt Russell.

July 21, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas government will seek compensation from British Petroleum (BP) for all the pre-assessment, monitoring and any post oil spill clean-up costs

Bahamas govt confirms it will seek compensation from BP
By KARIN HERIG
Tribune Staff Reporter
kherig@tribunemedia.net:



THE Bahamas government has officially confirmed that it will be seeking compensation from British Petroleum (BP) following the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which could affect the Bahamas' shores.

Environment Minister Dr Earl Deveaux told The Tribune that his government will be seeking compensation for "all the pre-assessment, monitoring and any post spill clean-up."

This comes after a report released by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated that Cay Sal Bank and the Bimini Cays are 41 to 60 per cent likely to have shoreline impact from the spill for years to come.

The northwest coast of Grand Bahama, the report said, is 20 per cent likely to be affected, and Andros is less than one per cent likely to be affected.

In an interview earlier this month, Bahamas National Trust (BNT) Eric Carey had said he wants BP to foot the bill in advance.

And while NOAA has concluded that the oil spill most likely will not harm marine life in the Bahamas, Mr Carey said it is still unknown how the dispersants from the spill will affect the country's ecosystem.

The money the government will now be requesting from BP is expected to assist scientific testing and expeditions to monitor the situation.

The next expedition should set sail in about a week and Mr Carey said he hopes BP will cover the costs.

The oil company told the Associated Press on Sunday that the overall cost of dealing with the spill is now at $3.5 billion.

Some $165 million of that sum were paid to settle individual claims. So far, BP has received over 100,000 claims for compensation and made more than 50,000 payments.

It is unknown at this time how much money the Bahamas will be requesting from BP, nor is it clear when or if the oil company will pay out in this instance.

Meanwhile, as BP yesterday removed the containment cap currently in place over the blown-out oil well to replace it with a tighter fitting one, the Obama administration has issued a new offshore drilling ban after a previous moratorium order was overturned.

BP has stated that it believes this second cap will possibly stop the oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.

The company said some oil will still leak out, but the tighter cap will enable them to capture it and funnel it up to the surface where collection ships await.

According to latest estimates, somewhere between 89 million and 179 million gallons of oil have spilled from BP's Deepwater Horizon rig 5,000ft below the ocean surface since an explosion on April 20 killed 11 people.

July 13, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International